Me-Doped Ti–Me Intermetallic Thin Films Used for Dry Biopotential Electrodes: A Comparative Case Study
In a new era for digital health, dry electrodes for biopotential measurement enable the monitoring of essential vital functions outside of specialized healthcare centers. In this paper, a new type of nanostructured titanium-based thin film is proposed, revealing improved biopotential sensing perform...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/23/8143 |
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| author | Cláudia Lopes Patrique Fiedler Marco Sampaio Rodrigues Joel Borges Maurizio Bertollo Eduardo Alves Nuno Pessoa Barradas Silvia Comani Jens Haueisen Filipe Vaz |
| author_facet | Cláudia Lopes Patrique Fiedler Marco Sampaio Rodrigues Joel Borges Maurizio Bertollo Eduardo Alves Nuno Pessoa Barradas Silvia Comani Jens Haueisen Filipe Vaz |
| author_sort | Cláudia Lopes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In a new era for digital health, dry electrodes for biopotential measurement enable the monitoring of essential vital functions outside of specialized healthcare centers. In this paper, a new type of nanostructured titanium-based thin film is proposed, revealing improved biopotential sensing performance and overcoming several of the limitations of conventional gel-based electrodes such as reusability, durability, biocompatibility, and comfort. The thin films were deposited on stainless steel (SS) discs and polyurethane (PU) substrates to be used as dry electrodes, for non-invasive monitoring of body surface biopotentials. Four different Ti–Me (Me = Al, Cu, Ag, or Au) metallic binary systems were prepared by magnetron sputtering. The morphology of the resulting Ti–Me systems was found to be dependent on the chemical composition of the films, specifically on the type and amount of Me. The existence of crystalline intermetallic phases or glassy amorphous structures also revealed a strong influence on the morphological features developed by the different systems. The electrodes were tested in an in-vivo study on 20 volunteers during sports activity, allowing study of the application-specific characteristics of the dry electrodes, based on Ti–Me intermetallic thin films, and evaluation of the impact of the electrode–skin impedance on biopotential sensing. The electrode–skin impedance results support the reusability and the high degree of reliability of the Ti–Me dry electrodes. The Ti–Al films revealed the least performance as biopotential electrodes, while the Ti–Au system provided excellent results very close to the Ag/AgCl reference electrodes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:44:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b3f3a435511845cfa4b464834aa0d2d3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:44:44Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-b3f3a435511845cfa4b464834aa0d2d32023-11-23T03:04:48ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202021-12-012123814310.3390/s21238143Me-Doped Ti–Me Intermetallic Thin Films Used for Dry Biopotential Electrodes: A Comparative Case StudyCláudia Lopes0Patrique Fiedler1Marco Sampaio Rodrigues2Joel Borges3Maurizio Bertollo4Eduardo Alves5Nuno Pessoa Barradas6Silvia Comani7Jens Haueisen8Filipe Vaz9Centro de Física das Universidades do Minho e Porto, Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, PortugalInstitute of Biomedical Engineering and Informatics, Technische Universität Ilmenau, 98693 Ilmenau, GermanyCentro de Física das Universidades do Minho e Porto, Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, PortugalCentro de Física das Universidades do Minho e Porto, Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, PortugalBehavioral Imaging and Neural Dynamics Center, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, ItalyInstituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, PortugalCentro de Ciências e Tecnologias Nucleares, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa EN10, 2695-066 Bobadela, PortugalBehavioral Imaging and Neural Dynamics Center, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, ItalyInstitute of Biomedical Engineering and Informatics, Technische Universität Ilmenau, 98693 Ilmenau, GermanyCentro de Física das Universidades do Minho e Porto, Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, PortugalIn a new era for digital health, dry electrodes for biopotential measurement enable the monitoring of essential vital functions outside of specialized healthcare centers. In this paper, a new type of nanostructured titanium-based thin film is proposed, revealing improved biopotential sensing performance and overcoming several of the limitations of conventional gel-based electrodes such as reusability, durability, biocompatibility, and comfort. The thin films were deposited on stainless steel (SS) discs and polyurethane (PU) substrates to be used as dry electrodes, for non-invasive monitoring of body surface biopotentials. Four different Ti–Me (Me = Al, Cu, Ag, or Au) metallic binary systems were prepared by magnetron sputtering. The morphology of the resulting Ti–Me systems was found to be dependent on the chemical composition of the films, specifically on the type and amount of Me. The existence of crystalline intermetallic phases or glassy amorphous structures also revealed a strong influence on the morphological features developed by the different systems. The electrodes were tested in an in-vivo study on 20 volunteers during sports activity, allowing study of the application-specific characteristics of the dry electrodes, based on Ti–Me intermetallic thin films, and evaluation of the impact of the electrode–skin impedance on biopotential sensing. The electrode–skin impedance results support the reusability and the high degree of reliability of the Ti–Me dry electrodes. The Ti–Al films revealed the least performance as biopotential electrodes, while the Ti–Au system provided excellent results very close to the Ag/AgCl reference electrodes.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/23/8143thin-filmsbinary intermetallic systemsTi–Me dry electrodespolymerselectrode–skin impedancebiopotential measurement |
| spellingShingle | Cláudia Lopes Patrique Fiedler Marco Sampaio Rodrigues Joel Borges Maurizio Bertollo Eduardo Alves Nuno Pessoa Barradas Silvia Comani Jens Haueisen Filipe Vaz Me-Doped Ti–Me Intermetallic Thin Films Used for Dry Biopotential Electrodes: A Comparative Case Study Sensors thin-films binary intermetallic systems Ti–Me dry electrodes polymers electrode–skin impedance biopotential measurement |
| title | Me-Doped Ti–Me Intermetallic Thin Films Used for Dry Biopotential Electrodes: A Comparative Case Study |
| title_full | Me-Doped Ti–Me Intermetallic Thin Films Used for Dry Biopotential Electrodes: A Comparative Case Study |
| title_fullStr | Me-Doped Ti–Me Intermetallic Thin Films Used for Dry Biopotential Electrodes: A Comparative Case Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Me-Doped Ti–Me Intermetallic Thin Films Used for Dry Biopotential Electrodes: A Comparative Case Study |
| title_short | Me-Doped Ti–Me Intermetallic Thin Films Used for Dry Biopotential Electrodes: A Comparative Case Study |
| title_sort | me doped ti me intermetallic thin films used for dry biopotential electrodes a comparative case study |
| topic | thin-films binary intermetallic systems Ti–Me dry electrodes polymers electrode–skin impedance biopotential measurement |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/23/8143 |
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