Dry Electroencephalography Textrode for Brain Activity Monitoring

Abstract

The advancement in smart materials allows researchers to seek smart textiles for wearable health monitoring. Here, a washable and flexible textile-based dry electroencephalography (EEG) electrode that can detect brain activities has been developed. The EEG electrodes were constructed from an electrically conductive cotton fabric with $67.23~\Omega $ /sq produced through printing PEDOT:PSS/PDMS conductive polymer composite on cotton fabric via screen printing. The mechanical properties like flexural rigidity and tensile strength of the conductive fabric were compared against the bare base material and a PEDOT:PSS-printed fabric. The result from an SEM revealed a uniform printing of the PEDOT:PSS/PDMS on the fabric. The signal-to-noise ratio of the textrode was higher than the Ag/AgCl dry electrode i.e. 17.32 (+3.1%) which open the door for long-term EEG monitoring. Moreover, the electrode can give clear and reliable EEG signals up to 15 washing cycles, 60 bending cycles, 5 multiple uses, and 8 hours of continued use.