Performance Evaluation of Knitted Fabric Based Electrodes for Wearable Applications

Continuous monitoring of heart activity is essential for diagnosing and managing various cardiovascular conditions, especially in vulnerable populations such as children, expectant mothers, and the elderly. However, developing textile-based biopotential sensors that provide high sensitivity, broad sensing range, rapid response, and exceptional comfort remains challenging. Conventional Ag/AgCl electrodes, while effective, often cause skin irritation, allergic reactions, and have limited reusability, making them unsuitable for long-term monitoring. To address these limitations, a cost-effective knitted fabric-based non- adhesive electrode for wearable applications was developed, exhibiting low impedance (approximately 6 ohms) and an average SNR of 36.32 dB. Material characterization using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) confirmed the fabric’s resistive behavior with minimal capacitive and inductive components. Comparative studies with Ag/AgCl electrodes demonstrated a cosine similarity of 1, indicating comparable performance. The findings highlight the potential of the proposed textile based electrode for reliable, comfortable, and durable integration into wearable health monitoring systems.