Researchers at the Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have just created heart monitoring sensors that outperform current technologies in terms of comfort, pliability, and accuracy.
"We have essentially created a polymer electrode that is comfortable to wear, adheres to the patient's skin, and can get an accurate reading without using gels or adhesives," said Kirstie Queener, a PhD candidate in the Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering and first author on the paper.
A paper detailing the new technology was published in Advanced Electronic Materials.
There are a few medical devices that record electrocardiogram (ECG) data to diagnose an illness. However, existing technologies use adhesives that can irritate the patient's skin and the electroconductive gels dry up over time, resulting in poor or inaccurate ECG readings.
Kirstie Queener. Credit: Daniele Lab.
To help address these challenges, Queener developed a liquid polymer that both conducts electricity and acts as a surfactant. The liquid polymer electrode is shaped by screen printing or molding, then cured with heat until it turns into an elastic solid.
The flexible electrode material has the potential to go beyond ECGs. The innovative material could also be used for other kinds of health monitoring devices. Researchers are in the process of preserving intellectual property rights on the material.
This work was done with support from the National Science Foundation under grants 2231012 and 2037328; the National Institutes of Health under grant 1R01CA297854-01; and the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research under grant 90REGE0017-01.
