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Conformable Wearable Electrodes: From Fabrication to Electrophysiological Assessment
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Systematic Benchmarking of a Noise-Tolerant Conductive Hydrogel Electrode for Epidermal Bioelectronics
Nazmi Alsaafeen1,2, Ioannis Ziogas1, Shirina Alsaedi1
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, 127788, UAE.
Advanced Science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)
|November 20, 2025
Summary
A new all-hydrogel electrode (PPHG) offers superior performance for electrophysiological monitoring compared to traditional Silver/Silver Chloride (Ag/AgCl) electrodes. This soft, adhesive alternative improves signal quality and reduces artifacts in electrocardiography (ECG) and electroencephalography (EEG).
Area of Science:
- Bioelectronics
- Materials Science
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Conventional Silver/Silver Chloride (Ag/AgCl) electrodes are standard for electrophysiological monitoring but suffer from poor skin conformity, rigidity, and signal degradation.
- Motion and sweat significantly impair the performance of existing clinical monitoring electrodes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate novel hydrogel-based electrodes as alternatives to Ag/AgCl.
- To benchmark the performance of an all-hydrogel, crosslinker-free electrode (PPHG) against conventional electrodes for various electrophysiological recordings.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of a scalable, one-pot, all-hydrogel electrode (PPHG) with intrinsic stretchability and self-adhesion.
- Benchmarking PPHG against Ag/AgCl electrodes using a wireless commercial platform for electrocardiography (ECG), electroencephalography (EEG), electrooculography (EOG), and electromyography (EMG).
- Electrochemical characterization and machine learning analysis of signal quality and classification accuracy.
Main Results:
- PPHG electrodes demonstrated stable, low-impedance skin contact, enhanced stretchability, and self-adhesion.
- Electrochemical properties of PPHG showed reduced resistive losses, enabling intrinsic signal smoothing and noise suppression.
- In human trials (n=39), PPHG outperformed Ag/AgCl electrodes in ECG (reduced motion artifacts, higher SNR), EEG (enhanced alpha-delta separation), EOG, and EMG recordings.
- Machine learning analysis showed a 2.2-fold improvement in ECG inter-lead classification accuracy with PPHG.
Conclusions:
- The PPHG electrode is a promising soft, adhesive, and sustainable alternative for high-fidelity bioelectronic interfaces.
- PPHG electrodes offer significant advantages over Ag/AgCl for wearable and clinical electrophysiological monitoring systems.
- The developed electrode technology enables improved signal quality and robustness across multiple physiological signals.
