A knitted garment using intarsia technique for Heart Rate Variability biofeedback: Evaluation of initial prototype

Textile-Friendly Interconnection between Wearable Measurement Instrumentation and Sensorized Garments-Initial Performance Evaluation for Electrocardiogram Recordings

The interconnection between hard electronics and soft textiles remains a noteworthy challenge in regard to the mass production of textile–electronic integrated products such as sensorized garments. The current solutions for this challenge usually have problems with size, flexibility, cost, or complexity of assembly. In this paper, we present a solution with a stretchable and conductive carbon nanotube (CNT)-based paste for screen printing on a textile substrate to produce interconnectors between electronic instrumentation and a sensorized garment. The prototype connectors were evaluated via electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings using a sensorized textile with integrated textile electrodes. The ECG recordings obtained using the connectors were evaluated for signal quality and heart rate detection performance in comparison to ECG recordings obtained with standard pre-gelled Ag/AgCl electrodes and direct cable connection to the ECG amplifier. The results suggest that the ECG recordings obtained with the CNT paste connector are of equivalent quality to those recorded using a silver paste connector or a direct cable and are suitable for the purpose of heart rate detection.

Heart rate variability monitoring for emotion and disorders of emotion

BACKGROUND

Emotion is composed of cognitive processing, physiological response and behavioral reaction. Heart rate variability (HRV) refers to the fluctuations between consecutive heartbeat cycles, and is considered as a non-invasive method for evaluating cardiac autonomic function. HRV analysis plays an important role in emotional study and detection.

OBJECTIVE

In this paper, the physiological foundation of HRV is briefly described, and then the relevant literature relating to HRV-based emotion studies for the performance of HRV in different emotions, emotion recognition, the evaluation of emotional disorders, HRV biofeedback, as well as HRV-based emotion analysis and management enhanced by wearable devices, are reviewed.

SIGNIFICANCE

It is suggested that HRV is an effective tool for the measurement and regulation of emotional response, with a broad application prospect.

Intarsia-sensorized band and textrodes for real-time myoelectric pattern recognition

Surface Electromyography (sEMG) has applications in prosthetics, diagnostics and neuromuscular rehabilitation. Self-adhesive Ag/AgCl are the electrodes preferentially used to capture sEMG in short-term studies, however their long-term application is limited. In this study we designed and evaluated a fully integrated smart textile band with electrical connecting tracks knitted with intarsia techniques and knitted textile electrodes. Real-time myoelectric pattern recognition for motor volition and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) were used to compare its sensing performance versus the conventional Ag-AgCl electrodes. After a comprehending measurement and performance comparison of the sEMG recordings, no significant differences were found between the textile and the Ag-AgCl electrodes in SNR and prediction accuracy obtained from pattern recognition classifiers.

Design and Evaluation of Novel Textile Wearable Systems for the Surveillance of Vital Signals

This article addresses the design, development, and evaluation of T-shirt prototypes that embed novel textile sensors for the capture of cardio and respiratory signals. The sensors are connected through textile interconnects to either an embedded custom-designed data acquisition and transmission unit or to snap fastener terminals for connection to external monitoring devices. The performance of the T-shirt prototype is evaluated in terms of signal-to-noise ratio amplitude and signal interference caused by baseline wander and motion artefacts, through laboratory tests with subjects in standing and walking conditions. Performance tests were also conducted in a hospital environment using a T-shirt prototype connected to a commercial three-channel Holter monitoring device. The textile sensors and interconnects were realized with the assistance of an industrial six-needle digital embroidery tool and their resistance to wear addressed with normalized tests of laundering and abrasion. The performance of these wearable systems is discussed, and pathways and methods for their optimization are highlighted.