Cargando…

Flexible Carbon Nanotube-Based Polymer Electrode for Long-Term Electrocardiographic Recording

The long-term monitoring of electrocardiogram (ECG) is critical for the accurate diagnosis and tracking of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). However, the commercial Ag/AgCl electrode is not suitable for long-term monitoring due to skin allergies and signal degradation, caused by the conductive gel dry...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Chi, Miao, Zhao, Jingjing, Dong, Ying, Wang, Xiaohao
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6470748/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30909577
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ma12060971
_version_ 1783411868290777088
author Chi, Miao
Zhao, Jingjing
Dong, Ying
Wang, Xiaohao
author_facet Chi, Miao
Zhao, Jingjing
Dong, Ying
Wang, Xiaohao
author_sort Chi, Miao
collection PubMed
description The long-term monitoring of electrocardiogram (ECG) is critical for the accurate diagnosis and tracking of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). However, the commercial Ag/AgCl electrode is not suitable for long-term monitoring due to skin allergies and signal degradation, caused by the conductive gel drying over time. In this paper, a flexible gel-free electrode, composed of a multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), is proposed for long-term wearable ECG monitoring. To achieve uniform dispersion of MWCNTs in viscous PDMS, we developed a novel parallel solvent-assisted ultrasonic dispersion method, wherein the organic solvent n–Hexane served as a dispersion to avoid MWCNT aggregates. The properties of the MWCNT/PDMS electrode were assessed through structural characterization, contact impedance tests, ECG measurements, and biocompatibility tests. When the MWCNT weight fraction reached 5.5 wt%, the skin-electrode contact impedance of the MWCNT/PDMS electrode was lower than that of the Ag/AgCl electrode below 100 Hz. In daily ECG monitoring, the MWCNT/PDMS electrodes showed superior performance against motion artifact compared to the Ag/AgCl electrode. After seven days of wearing the MWCNT/PDMS electrode, ECG signals did not degrade and no side effects, such as skin redness and swelling, were observed. Thus, this electrode could enable long-term ECG monitoring in wearable healthcare systems.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-6470748
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2019
publisher MDPI
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-64707482019-04-27 Flexible Carbon Nanotube-Based Polymer Electrode for Long-Term Electrocardiographic Recording Chi, Miao Zhao, Jingjing Dong, Ying Wang, Xiaohao Materials (Basel) Article The long-term monitoring of electrocardiogram (ECG) is critical for the accurate diagnosis and tracking of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). However, the commercial Ag/AgCl electrode is not suitable for long-term monitoring due to skin allergies and signal degradation, caused by the conductive gel drying over time. In this paper, a flexible gel-free electrode, composed of a multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), is proposed for long-term wearable ECG monitoring. To achieve uniform dispersion of MWCNTs in viscous PDMS, we developed a novel parallel solvent-assisted ultrasonic dispersion method, wherein the organic solvent n–Hexane served as a dispersion to avoid MWCNT aggregates. The properties of the MWCNT/PDMS electrode were assessed through structural characterization, contact impedance tests, ECG measurements, and biocompatibility tests. When the MWCNT weight fraction reached 5.5 wt%, the skin-electrode contact impedance of the MWCNT/PDMS electrode was lower than that of the Ag/AgCl electrode below 100 Hz. In daily ECG monitoring, the MWCNT/PDMS electrodes showed superior performance against motion artifact compared to the Ag/AgCl electrode. After seven days of wearing the MWCNT/PDMS electrode, ECG signals did not degrade and no side effects, such as skin redness and swelling, were observed. Thus, this electrode could enable long-term ECG monitoring in wearable healthcare systems. MDPI 2019-03-23 /pmc/articles/PMC6470748/ /pubmed/30909577 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ma12060971 Text en © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Chi, Miao
Zhao, Jingjing
Dong, Ying
Wang, Xiaohao
Flexible Carbon Nanotube-Based Polymer Electrode for Long-Term Electrocardiographic Recording
title Flexible Carbon Nanotube-Based Polymer Electrode for Long-Term Electrocardiographic Recording
title_full Flexible Carbon Nanotube-Based Polymer Electrode for Long-Term Electrocardiographic Recording
title_fullStr Flexible Carbon Nanotube-Based Polymer Electrode for Long-Term Electrocardiographic Recording
title_full_unstemmed Flexible Carbon Nanotube-Based Polymer Electrode for Long-Term Electrocardiographic Recording
title_short Flexible Carbon Nanotube-Based Polymer Electrode for Long-Term Electrocardiographic Recording
title_sort flexible carbon nanotube-based polymer electrode for long-term electrocardiographic recording
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6470748/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30909577
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ma12060971
work_keys_str_mv AT chimiao flexiblecarbonnanotubebasedpolymerelectrodeforlongtermelectrocardiographicrecording
AT zhaojingjing flexiblecarbonnanotubebasedpolymerelectrodeforlongtermelectrocardiographicrecording
AT dongying flexiblecarbonnanotubebasedpolymerelectrodeforlongtermelectrocardiographicrecording
AT wangxiaohao flexiblecarbonnanotubebasedpolymerelectrodeforlongtermelectrocardiographicrecording