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Japanese fiber firm develops wearable electrocardiogram textile

Xinhua, April 15, 2015 Adjust font size:

A Japanese fiber company has developed a wearable electrode textile, which enables rapid, accurate 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) measurements, announced the company on Wednesday.

The new e-textile, a fabric with built-in electrical circuits, incorporates eight of the 10 electrodes required for 12-lead ECG measurements. It can be used for ECG measurements simply by wrapping it around the patient's torso and under the armpit.

"The e-textile uses the Nishijin-brocade technique, in which a single weft thread is continuously woven into a complex design," said the company in a release. "As a result, one strand of conductive thread can be fabricated into a high-quality ECG- measuring fabric with electrodes and conducting wire in a stable, industrialized fashion."

Teiken Limited, a Teijin group company that manufactures and sells high-performance fiber products for health, comfort, disaster-prevention and safety, carried out the development jointly with Tomohiro Kuroda, director at division of information technology and administration planning of Kyoto University Hospital, and the Advanced Scientific Technology & Management Research Institute of Kyoto (ASTEM).

The research was designated by Kansai Bureau under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in fiscal 2014 (April 1, 2014-March 31, 2015) as a project promoting new and advanced medical devices through medical-engineering collaboration.

"Teiken hopes to bring the wearable ECG textile to market within 2015," said the firm.

Cardiac disease, the second-leading cause of death in Japan, is responsible for the increasing emergency transport of patients suffering from cardiac events. To improve survival rates, acute ischemic heart disease requires rapid treatment, including measurement of the patient's 12-lead ECG prior to emergency transport. The normal procedure is to fix 10 electrodes to the patient, but this exacting procedure is difficult to perform correctly in the field under emergency conditions, so 12-lead ECG generally is not implemented prior to emergency transport. The new wearable e-textile, however, offers hope for the increased use of 12-lead ECG in the field. Endi