Development of Wearable Wireless Heating E-Textile using Conductive Threads for Thermotherapy

Abstract

Thermotherapy is an application that uses heat to relieve pain in a specific area of the body. This study proposed the development of a wireless heating e-textile belt that makes use of conductive thread as a heating element for the implementation of thermotherapy. The threads used in the fabricated device were Thermotech IP30, a stainless-steel thread, and Shieldex Yarn 117–17, a silver-coated thread. 30 samples were collected during data gathering, whichwas then subjected to the t-test formula under a 95% confidence interval to test the system's regressionmodel. Based on the results, both threads showed a linear relationship between voltage and temperature. Furthermore, the analysis showed that the two thread types could generate the recommended temperatures for thermotherapy, with a mean percentage error of 0.0074% and 0.0090% for Thermotech IP30 and Shieldex Yarn 117 -17, respectively. These percentage errors translated to maximum temperature differences of 0.281°C and 0.241°C, respectively. For further studies on the subject, the proponents recommend that improvements be made to the regularity of the system so that all heating pads would generate the same amount of voltage and resulting temperature, which would significantly improve the benefits of the fabricated device.