Feasibility of a Waistband-Type Wireless Wearable Electrocardiogram Monitoring System Based on a Textile Electrode: Development and Usability Study

BACKGROUND: Electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring in daily life is essential for effective management of cardiovascular disease, a leading cause of death. Wearable ECG measurement systems in the form of clothing have been proposed to replace Holter monitors used for clinical ECG monitoring; however, they have limitations in daily use because they compress the upper body and, in doing so, cause discomfort during wear. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to develop a wireless wearable ECG monitoring system that includes a textile ECG electrode that can be applied to the lining of pants and can be used in the same way that existing lower clothing is worn, without compression to the upper body. METHODS: A textile electrode with stretchable characteristics was fabricated by knitting a conductive yarn together with polyester-polyurethane fiber, which was then coated with silver compound; an ECG electrode was developed by placing it on an elastic band in a modified limb lead configuration. In addition, a system with analog-to-digital conversion, wireless communication, and a smartphone app was developed, allowing users to be able to check and store their own ECGs in real time. A signal processing algorithm was also developed to remove noise from the obtained signal and to calculate the heart rate. To evaluate the ECG and heart rate measurement performance of the developed module, a comparative evaluation with a commercial device was performed. ECGs were measured for 5 minutes each in standing, sitting, and lying positions; the mean absolute percentage errors of heart rates measured with both systems were then compared. RESULTS: The system was developed in the form of a belt buckle with a size of 53 × 45 × 12 mm (width × height × depth) and a weight of 23 g. In a qualitative evaluation, it was confirmed that the P-QRS-T waveform was clearly observed in ECGs obtained with the wearable system. From the results of the heart rate estimation, the developed system could track changes in heart rate as calculated by a commercial ECG measuring device; in addition, the mean absolute percentage errors of heart rates were 1.80%, 2.84%, and 2.48% in the standing, sitting, and lying positions, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The developed system was able to effectively measure ECG and calculate heart rate simply through being worn as existing clothing without upper body pressure. It is anticipated that general usability can be secured through further evaluation under more diverse conditions.