Scientists create hair-like electrode to monitor brain’s electrical activity

New York, May 4 A team of researchers in the US has created a hair-like device for long-term, non-invasive monitoring of the brain’s electrical activity.

The lightweight and flexible electrode attaches directly to the scalp and delivers stable, high-quality recordings of the brain’s signals, said the team from Penn State University.

The future of electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring may soon look like a strand of hair, in place of the traditional metal electrodes, a web of wires and sticky adhesives.

EEG is critical for diagnosing and assessing neurological conditions like epilepsy and brain injuries.

In some cases, clinicians need to monitor brain waves for longer periods of time, for example, to evaluate seizures, sleep disorders and conditions that affect the blood vessels and blood flow in the brain.

The researchers described the new electrodes, which were shown to maintain stable performance for over 24 hours of continuous wear, in a study published in the journal npc biomedical innovations.

This technology holds promise for use in consumer health and wellness products, in addition to clinical health care application, according to the researchers.

“This electrode allows for more consistent and reliable monitoring of EEG signals and can be worn without being noticeable, which enhances both functionality and patient comfort,” said Tao Zhou, senior author of the paper published in npj Biomedical Innovations journal.

EEG monitoring is a widely used method to measure the brain’s electrical activity, Zhou explained.

The traditional EEG monitoring process, however, can be a cumbersome — and sometimes messy — affair. Its limitations make it difficult to use for continuous, long-term monitoring.

The conventional EEG electrodes are rigid, too, and can shift when someone moves their head, even slightly, which can compromise the data uniformity.

To address these limitations, the research team designed a small monitoring device that looks like a strand of hair and is made from 3D-printed hydrogel material.

One end is the electrode. It looks like a small dot and captures the brain’s electrical signals from the scalp. There’s a long, thin wire-like component that extends from the electrode, which connects to the monitoring system.

The device also uses a 3D-printable bioadhesive ink that allows the electrode to stick directly onto the scalp without the need for any gloopy gels or other skin preparation.

This minimises the gap between the electrode and scalp, improving the signal quality.

The lightweight, flexible and stretchable nature of the device also means that the device stays put — even when combing hair and donning and removing a baseball cap — and can be worn for longer periods of time, making it suitable for chronic monitoring.

The team found that the new device performed comparably to gold electrodes, the current standard electrodes used for EEG.

However, the hairlike electrode maintained better contact between the electrode and skin and performed reliably for over 24 hours of continuous wear without any degradation in signal quality.

“You don’t have to worry if the position of the electrode has changed or if the impedance has changed because the electrodes haven’t moved,” Zhou said.

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