Natalie Tetreault and Ryan Kaveh

EECS Department, University of California, Berkeley

Technical Report No. UCB/EECS-2021-253

December 10, 2021

http://www2.eecs.berkeley.edu/Pubs/TechRpts/2021/EECS-2021-253.pdf

Medical devices that record electrical activity of the human body in order to diagnose epilepsy and cardiac arrhythmias rely on a good interface between the conductors and the skin. Clinically standard devices utilize electrodes with hydrogels to reduce impedance and improve signal quality. These clinical “wet” electrodes are challenging to self-administer, which impedes the potential for in-home monitoring. Wearable dry electrodes are more practical, however they show high impedance (relative to wet electrodes). This work demonstrates a fabrication method that can produce custom shaped 3D electrodes that are optimized for each individual or specific recording location of the body. An electroless gold plating process is used in combination with 3D printing to achieve high-performance dry electrodes that do not require skin preparation and are comfortable to wear. The electrodes exhibit an average electrode-skin impedance and DC offset of 71.2 kΩ at 50Hz and 20 mV, respectively.

Advisors: Ana Claudia Arias

---

BibTeX citation:

@mastersthesis{Tetreault:EECS-2021-253,
    Author= {Tetreault, Natalie and Kaveh, Ryan},
    Title= {Rapid Fabrication of Low Impedance, 3D Dry Electrodes for Physiological Sensing},
    School= {EECS Department, University of California, Berkeley},
    Year= {2021},
    Month= {Dec},
    Url= {http://www2.eecs.berkeley.edu/Pubs/TechRpts/2021/EECS-2021-253.html},
    Number= {UCB/EECS-2021-253},
    Abstract= {Medical devices that record electrical activity of the human body in order to diagnose epilepsy and cardiac arrhythmias rely on a good interface between the conductors and the skin. Clinically standard devices utilize electrodes with hydrogels to reduce impedance and improve signal quality. These clinical “wet” electrodes are challenging to self-administer, which impedes the potential for in-home monitoring. Wearable dry electrodes are more practical, however they show high impedance (relative to wet electrodes). This work demonstrates a fabrication method that can produce custom shaped 3D electrodes that are optimized for each individual or specific recording location of the body. An electroless gold plating process is used in combination with 3D printing to achieve high-performance dry electrodes that do not require skin preparation and are comfortable to wear. The electrodes exhibit an average electrode-skin impedance and DC offset of 71.2 kΩ at 50Hz and 20 mV, respectively.},
}

EndNote citation:

%0 Thesis
%A Tetreault, Natalie 
%A Kaveh, Ryan 
%T Rapid Fabrication of Low Impedance, 3D Dry Electrodes for Physiological Sensing
%I EECS Department, University of California, Berkeley
%D 2021
%8 December 10
%@ UCB/EECS-2021-253
%U http://www2.eecs.berkeley.edu/Pubs/TechRpts/2021/EECS-2021-253.html
%F Tetreault:EECS-2021-253