Innovative Centre for Flexible Devices (iFLEX), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639798, Singapore.
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences, Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
Adv Mater. 2020 Jul;32(26):e2001496. doi: 10.1002/adma.202001496. Epub 2020 May 25.
Underwater vital signs monitoring of respiratory rate, blood pressure, and the heart's status is essential for healthcare and sports management. Real-time electrocardiography (ECG) monitoring underwater can be one solution for this. However, the current electrodes used for ECGs are not suitable for aquatic applications since they may lose their adhesiveness to skin, stable conductivity, or/and structural stability when immersed into water. Here, the design and fabrication of water-resistant electrodes to repurpose stretchable electrodes for applications in an aquatic environment are reported. The electrodes are composed of stretchable metal-polymer composite film as the substrate and dopamine-containing polymer as a coating. The polymer is designed to possess underwater adhesiveness from the dopamine motif, water stability from the main scaffold, and ionic conductivity from the carboxyl groups for signal transmission. Stable underwater conductivity and firm adhesion to skin allow the electrodes to collect reliable ECG signals under various conditions in water. It is shown that wearable devices incorporated with the water-resistant electrodes can acquire real-time ECG signals during swimming, which can be used for revealing the heart condition. These water-resistant electrodes realize underwater detection of ECG signals and can be used for health monitoring and sports management during aquatic activities.
水下生命体征监测，包括呼吸频率、血压和心脏状况，对医疗保健和运动管理至关重要。实时心电图（ECG）监测可作为一种解决方案。然而，目前用于 ECG 的电极并不适用于水下应用，因为它们在浸入水中时可能会失去与皮肤的附着力、稳定的导电性和/或结构稳定性。本研究报道了一种防水电极的设计和制造方法，即将可拉伸电极重新用于水下环境。这些电极由可拉伸的金属-聚合物复合薄膜作为基底和含有多巴胺的聚合物作为涂层组成。该聚合物设计具有多巴胺基元的水下附着力、主支架的水稳定性以及用于信号传输的羧基的离子导电性。稳定的水下导电性和与皮肤的牢固附着力使电极能够在水中的各种条件下收集可靠的 ECG 信号。结果表明，装有防水电极的可穿戴设备可以在游泳过程中获取实时 ECG 信号，这些信号可用于揭示心脏状况。这些防水电极实现了水下 ECG 信号检测，可用于水上活动期间的健康监测和运动管理。
