Development of flexible dry ECG electrodes based on MWCNT/PDMS composite

Flexible dry electrode based on multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composite, for monitoring electrocardiogram (ECG) signals, has been developed. The dry ECG electrode was fabricated by screen printing silver (Ag) ink on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate, followed by bar coating of MWCNT/PDMS composite. The performance of the fabricated device was investigated by measuring ECG signals using printed dry electrodes with radii varying from 8 mm to 16 mm. The results were compared with a traditional wet Ag/AgCl ECG electrode (T716). It was observed that the dry ECG electrode, with the largest area, demonstrated better performance, in terms of signal intensity and correlation, when compared to the traditional wet ECG electrode. The response of the dry ECG electrodes are analyzed and presented in this paper.