Microneedle Array Electrodes Fabricated With 3D Printing Technology for High-Quality Electrophysiological Acquisition

• Main Authors: Jianyu Fu (Author), Shanyong Huang (Author), Jianglang Cao (Author), Jianping Huang (Author), Debin Xu (Author), Naifu Jiang (Author), Xiangxin Li (Author), Guanglin Li (Author), Peng Fang (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: IEEE, 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

Electrophysiological recordings are vital in assessing biological functions, diagnosing diseases, and facilitating biofeedback and rehabilitation. The applications of conventional wet (gel) electrodes often come with some limitations. Microneedle array electrodes (MAEs) present a possible solution for high-quality electrophysiological acquisition, while the prior technologies for MAE fabrication have been either complex, expensive, or incapable of producing microneedles with uniform dimensions. This work employed a projection stereolithography (P<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu $ </tex-math></inline-formula>SL) 3D printing technology to fabricate MAEs with micrometer-level precision. The MAEs were compared with gel and flat electrodes on electrode-skin interface impedance (EII) and performances of EMG and ECG acquisition. The experimental results indicate that the P<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu $ </tex-math></inline-formula>SL 3D printing technology contributed to an easy-to-perform and low-cost fabrication approach for MAEs. The developed MAEs exhibited promising EII and enabled a stable EMG and ECG acquisition in different conditions without inducing skin allergies, inflammation, or injuries. This research lies in the development of a type of customizable MAE with considerable biomedical application potentials for ultra-minimally invasive or non-invasive electrophysiological acquisition.

Item Description

1534-4320
1558-0210
10.1109/TNSRE.2024.3422489