Applications of Smart Textiles for Ambulatory Electrocardiogram Monitoring: Scoping Review of the Literature
Key finding
A scoping review of 34 articles (2000–2025): textile ECG electrodes show good signal quality and comfort, especially under static conditions, with clinical validation and data interoperability the key open challenges.
Abstract
Background: Smart textiles (i.e. electronic textiles) offer a promising solution to ease continuous electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring, but their real-world clinical application has been limited, lagging behind basic feasibility studies.
Objective: This review comprehensively examines the current state of research on textile-based ECG monitoring systems, notably synthesizing current evidence with respect to performance (i.e. signal quality, function under static and dynamic conditions), user experience, and key challenges.
Methods: A literature search across scientific databases from 2000 to 2025 identified 34 research articles eligible for inclusion.
Results: Textile-based ECG electrodes demonstrated good signal quality and comfort, particularly under static conditions. Nonetheless, integrating these technologies into clinical practice requires addressing critical issues, notably validation in clinical settings and populations, as well as greater attention to data privacy and security, cost-effectiveness, user-friendliness, and concerns regarding data interoperability.
Conclusion: Successful clinical integration of textile-based ECG monitoring systems requires a collaborative effort in establishing comprehensive evaluation frameworks, regulatory policies, and robust clinical trials.
What this proves at MyantX
This peer-reviewed scoping review of 34 studies (2000–2025) is the literature backdrop for the whole ambulatory-ECG program: textile electrodes show good signal quality and comfort, with clinical validation and data interoperability named as the open challenges. It underwrites Textile ECG and the continuous-monitoring claims across healthcare, home health, sleep, first-responder, and population-health programs. It is also an honest map of what smart textiles still have to prove.
Cite this paper
Clarissa Pedrini Schuch, Gabriela Chaves, Bastien Moineau, Sarah Bennett, Meysam Pirbaglou, Edwin Martin Lobo, Milad Alizadeh-Meghrazi. “Applications of Smart Textiles for Ambulatory Electrocardiogram Monitoring: Scoping Review of the Literature.” JMIR Cardio, 2026. https://doi.org/10.2196/74261
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