Fabric based electrode array for muscle stimulation

International Conference on Medical Physics

August 03-05, 2015 Birmingham, UK

Kai Yang, Chris Freeman, Russel Torah, Steve Beeby and John Tudor

Posters-Accepted Abstracts: J Nucl Med Radiat Ther

Abstract :

Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) is widely used in rehabilitation to activate muscles artificially. When precisely controlled, it allows intense practice of functional tasks and the resultant sensory feedback promotes cortical reorganization, facilitating rehabilitation. FES electrode arrays have been shown to provide greater muscle selectivity and reduced fatigue compared to the large individual electrode pads used in commercial FES devices. Current FES arrays are realized on a plastic substrate which is not comfortable to wear. This work presents a novel screen printed FES array on polyester/cotton that is suitable for everyday wear in clothing. The fabric FES array was fabricated by printing four functional layers: 1) An interface layer to create a smooth surface on the fabric for subsequent printing; 2) a conductive silver layer to form the conductive path; 3) an encapsulation layer over the conductive tracks to provide protection and electrical insulation; 4) a carbon loaded silicone rubber layer over the conductive pads to form a good connection to the skin. The fabrication of the FES array was evaluated on two types of polyester/cotton fabric. Although both fabrics maintained very good flexibility after FES array printing, the thinner fabric has better performance when compared to the thicker one. A range of postures (pinching, pointing, and hand opening) have been achieved by stimulating an optimised selection of electrode elements. The fabric FES array can be integrated into clothing, for example as an arm band/cuff or sleeve, to form a wearable FES device suitable for rehabilitation of neurological disorders such as stroke, head injury and multiple sclerosis.