Textile-Based Stretchable and Flexible Glove Sensor for Monitoring Upper Extremity Prosthesis Functions

Abstract

To detect various signals and motions from the human body, textile substrates having the compatibility with human skin and high electrical/mechanical properties are strongly required in wearable healthcare sensors. However, there is still limitation in forming electrical materials directly on fabric substrates due to inherent fabric properties such as porousness and roughness of surface. In this study, by using stretchable and flexible polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films as both interface/ planarization and passivation layers, we demonstrate a textile-based AgNW sensor with high conductivity (434.7 S/cm) on polyester-based spandex fabric substrate. In addition, in order to detect hand motions, we designed a full-sized glove-type sensor by integrating five strain sensor units, showing stable responsibility to each finger motions individually. Furthermore, to expand the possibilities of the textile-based glove sensor in prosthesis monitoring applications, the glove sensor was applied to a 3D-printed prosthetic hand to detect hand motion or gestures and showed stable corresponding responses to different grasps (against normal and small-sized balls). From successful results in practical 3D-printed prosthetic application, we believe that the textile-based sensor developed in this study is appropriate for human motion monitoring and potential candidates for integrated prosthetic hands and medical robotic hand.