SBIR Phase II: No Preparation, Flexible, Dry Physiological Recording Electrodes

该小企业创新研究二期项目是为了完成一种低成本、不需要准备、灵活的干式生理记录电极的开发。通过减少获得良好信号所需的时间和准备，并降低制造高质量电极的总成本，这些电极具有显著提高护理质量和降低生物电位信号分析的总成本的潜力。第一阶段的结果表明，在低成本的柔性衬底上在刚性衬底上制作干电极结构是可行的。然而，需要进一步的工作来优化制造工艺，并确保选择最低成本和最高性能的柔性干式电极系统和制造工艺，为未来的使用奠定坚实的基础。这一第二阶段项目的主要目标包括并行开发两种特别有前景的制造技术，选择一种单一的制造技术进行进一步开发，以及在临床环境中测试和评估干电极的能力。该项目的商业应用将在临床环境中对患者进行生理监测。生理测量，如心电图仪、肌电图仪和脑电图仪预计将受益于使用干电极，部分原因是应用电极所需的时间和准备工作减少，部分原因是在测量过程中消除了研磨皮肤准备和电解胶。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is to complete the development of a low-cost, no preparation required, flexible dry physiological recording electrode. These electrodes have the potential to significantly improve quality of care and reduce total cost of biopotential signal analysis by reducing the time and preparation required to obtain a good signal and reducing the total cost of fabricating high quality electrodes. The Phase I results showed feasibility of fabricating dry electrode structures on rigid substrates onto low-cost flexible substrates. However, further work is necessary to optimize the fabrication processes and to ensure that the lowest cost and highest performing flexible dry electrode systems and fabrication processes are chosen to establish a solid foundation for future use. The key objectives of this Phase II project include parallel development of two particularly promising fabrication techniques, selection of a single fabrication technique for further development, and testing and evaluation of the capabilities of the dry electrodes in clinical environments. The commercial applications of this project will be in the area of physiological monitoring of patients in a clinical setting. Physiological measurements such as ECG (electrocardiogram), EMG (electromyogram), and EEG (electroencephalogram) are expected to benefit from the use of dry electrodes, in part due to the reduced time and preparation needed to apply the electrodes and in part, due to the elimination of abrasive skin prepping and electrolytic gels in the measurement procedure.