Abstract
The unique parameters of graphene (GN)—notably its considerable electron mobility, high surface area, and electrical conductivity—are bringing extensive attention into the wearable technologies. This work presents a novel graphene-based electrode for acquisition of electrocardiogram (ECG). The proposed electrode was fabricated by coating GN on top of a metallic layer of a Ag/AgCl electrode using a chemical vapour deposition (CVD) technique. To investigate the performance of the fabricated GN-based electrode, two types of electrodes were fabricated with different sizes to conduct the signal qualities and the skin-electrode contact impedance measurements. Performances of the GN-enabled electrodes were compared to the conventional Ag/AgCl electrodes in terms of ECG signal quality, skin–electrode contact impedance, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and response time. Experimental results showed the proposed GN-based electrodes produced better ECG signals, higher SNR (improved by 8%), and lower contact impedance (improved by 78%) values than conventional ECG electrodes.
Highlights
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide, killing more than 15 million people every year [1]
The skin–electrode contact impedance was decreased by applying a mild pressure onto the AgNW electrode, and the results demonstrated that the AgNW/PDMS dry electrode outperformed the pregelled Ag/AgCl electrodes with fewer motion artifacts when the subject was swinging their arms and jogging
We evaluated the performance of the electrodes, and ECG signals were analyzed to calculate signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) usinSgNtRhe=f2o0llloowg(iSn/(gS’e−quS)a)tion [14]: (1)
Summary
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide, killing more than 15 million people every year [1]. The most commonly used bioelectrodes are of the gel-type disposable Ag/AgCl electrodes [2] and these are simple, reliable, and cost effective during cardiac monitoring. These standard wet-type electrodes typically have three main parts: Ag/AgCl layer for sensing; conductive gel to maintain good electrical contact with the skin; and a connector part for conducting the electrical signal through third-party devices for monitoring purposes. Studies have showed that using adhesive gel on wet Ag/AgCl electrodes can trigger dermal irritation and cause potential signal degradation in long-term measurements [3]. The demand for comfortable and easy-to-use electrodes has resulted in fabrication of dry or gel-less ECG electrodes that eliminate the need for gel and even skin preparation
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