A Flexible Wearable Electrooculogram System With Motion Artifacts Sensing and Reduction

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Wearable Technology
• Physiological Monitoring

Background:

• Electrooculogram (EOG) measures eye movements but is highly sensitive to motion artifacts.
• Existing EOG systems can be cumbersome and require skin preparation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a single-channel, wireless, wearable flexible EOG monitoring system.
• To incorporate motion artifact sensing and reduction capabilities.
• To enhance user comfort and applicability in smart devices.

Main Methods:

• Implementation on a four-layer flexible polyimide substrate.
• Utilizing two non-contact electrode pairs for EOG and motion artifact detection/reduction.
• Employing a microcontroller and BLE 5.0 for wireless data transmission with low power consumption (56 mW).

Main Results:

• Achieved a gain of ~37 dB and a bandwidth of 1 Hz to 40 Hz.
• Demonstrated effective motion artifact reduction with horizontally parallel electrode pairs, preserving EOG features like eye-blinking.
• Non-contact electrodes showed >50x sensitivity compared to commercial gold electrodes, with a ~380 mS response time.

Conclusions:

• The developed flexible EOG system is lightweight, comfortable, and eliminates the need for skin preparation.
• Its non-contact nature and effective artifact reduction make it suitable for integration into eye-masks and headbands.
• Presents a promising prototype for advanced smart applications requiring reliable eye-movement monitoring.