Types of EMG Textile Electrodes: a comparative study using PCA

Identifying a suitable textile electrode that would be durable and assist in recording high bio-signal quality is crucial in the production of medical devices. Therefore, this study aimed to compare silver-plated-polyamide-embroidered cotton (SPEC), copper-nickel-plated polyester (CNP), and stainless-steel-fabric (SSF) dry textile electromyography (EMG) electrodes through principal component analysis (PCA). Each electrode was also compared against standard silver/silver chloride (Ag/AgCl) gel electrodes. The output was analyzed based on multi variables extracted from EMG features such as root mean square (RMS) voltage, average rectified value (ARV) voltage, kurtosis, and skewness using activation of the bicep, and tibialis anterior muscles group. The SSF electrode outperformed CNP and SPEC electrodes. Without applying any boundary conditions, each textile electrode has signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) values comparable to the standard electrode. The SNR values were 24.38 dB, 17.72 dB, 15.55 dB, and 13.30 dB, for Ag/AgCl, SSF, CNP and SPEC electrodes, respectively. The performance of all the conductive textile electrodes was comparable to that of Ag/AgCl. However, the gel electrode requires skin preparation and has short-term stability, whereas textile electrode materials last longer and can be used for biological signal monitoring at home without the assistance of medical professionals.