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Conformable Wearable Electrodes: From Fabrication to Electrophysiological Assessment
Published on: July 22, 2022
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Soft, comfortable polymer dry electrodes for high quality ECG and EEG recording
Yun-Hsuan Chen1, Maaike Op de Beeck2, Luc Vanderheyden3
1KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Departement of Electrical Engineering, Kasteelpark Arenberg 10, Leuven 3001, Belgium. Yun-Hsuan.Chen@imec.be.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|December 17, 2014
Summary
New polymer-based dry electrodes offer a comfortable and effective alternative for biopotential measurements. These electrodes provide high user comfort and can record electroencephalography (EEG) signals with promising results, similar to traditional gel electrodes.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Materials Science
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Conventional gel electrodes for biopotential measurements cause skin irritation and discomfort.
- Existing rigid dry electrodes, while improving setup, introduce pain and discomfort due to their rigidity.
- There is a need for comfortable, easy-to-use dry electrodes for biopotential signal acquisition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate novel dry electrodes fabricated from EPDM rubber for enhanced user comfort.
- To assess the electrical properties and biopotential recording capabilities of the developed polymer electrodes.
- To compare the performance of polymer dry electrodes with conventional gel electrodes for ECG and EEG signals.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of dry electrodes using EPDM rubber with conductive additives.
- Measurement of electrode impedance on phantoms and human skin.
- Recording of electrocardiogram (ECG) and electroencephalography (EEG) signals using the polymer electrodes connected to a clinical system.
Main Results:
- Optimized polymer electrodes achieved a skin-electrode impedance approximately 10 times higher than gel electrodes.
- The dry electrodes successfully recorded strong biopotential signals like ECG.
- High-quality EEG recordings were obtained, with clear alpha wave detection and high signal similarity to gel electrodes, confirmed by correlation and coherence analyses. All participants reported no discomfort.
Conclusions:
- The developed EPDM rubber-based dry electrodes offer a significant improvement in user comfort compared to existing options.
- These polymer electrodes are suitable for recording strong biopotential signals and, with active circuitry, for low-amplitude signals like EEG.
- Polymer-based dry electrodes represent a promising alternative to both rigid dry electrodes and conventional gel electrodes for biopotential measurements.
