Preliminary Study on Wearable Smart Socks with Hydrogel Electrodes for Surface Electromyography-Based Muscle Activity...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Wearable Technology
• Rehabilitation Science

Background:

• Surface electromyography (sEMG) is vital for healthcare, but current systems face challenges with skin irritation and signal quality due to disposable electrodes.
• Wearable sEMG systems with textile electrodes show promise but often struggle with poor skin contact, leading to high impedance and motion artifacts.
• Accurate muscle electrical activity monitoring is crucial for diagnosing conditions like sarcopenia and assessing fall risk.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a preliminary model of smart socks with integrated biocompatible hybrid polymer electrodes for wearable sEMG.
• To assess the performance of these novel electrodes in terms of skin-electrode impedance and signal quality compared to commercial electrodes.
• To demonstrate the feasibility of using these smart socks for analyzing lower limb muscle activity in a wearable context.

Main Methods:

• Development of smart socks featuring biocompatible hybrid polymer electrodes strategically placed over key lower limb muscles.
• Measurement and comparison of skin-electrode impedance between the novel hybrid electrodes and commercial Ag/AgCl electrodes.
• Acquisition and analysis of sEMG signals from Gastrocnemius and Tibialis muscles using the smart socks and commercial electrodes, assessing signal correlation.

Main Results:

• The novel hybrid polymer electrodes demonstrated significantly lower skin-electrode impedance (19.2 ± 3.1 kΩ) compared to commercial Ag/AgCl electrodes (27.8 ± 4.5 kΩ).
• A strong correlation (R = 0.87) was observed between sEMG signals acquired using the smart socks and those from commercial electrodes.
• The system successfully acquired and analyzed sEMG signals from lower limb muscles, indicating good signal quality and reliability.

Conclusions:

• The developed smart socks with hybrid polymer electrodes represent a promising advancement for wearable sEMG systems, offering improved usability and signal quality.
• This innovative wearable system provides a foundation for enhanced monitoring of lower limb muscle activity, crucial for clinical applications.
• Further validation with larger datasets and real-world conditions is warranted to fully establish the long-term performance and clinical utility of this technology.