Preparation and application of self-adhesive ultra-thin epidermal electrophysiological electrodes

Flexible and wearable epidermal electrophysiological electrodes are of great significance in the field of artificial intelligence and life health. The acquisition of stable epidermal electrophysiological signals with high-quality is the key to wearable monitoring of electrophysiological signals of human bodies. Ag/AgCl gel-electrodes commonly used in clinical diagnosis still have a large number of shortcomings, including serious discomfort and inevitable motion artifacts during long-term use. Therefore, it is urgent to develop electrophysiological electrodes that can be worn on the epidermis for a long time and can effectively avoid motion artifacts. The self-adhesive electrode with a Young’s modulus similar to that of the skin and an extremely thin thickness (<1 μm) is a typical electrode that meets the above requirements. This paper introduces the research progress of this type of epidermal electrophysiological electrodes in detail. According to the different types of materials, the design idea, basic characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of wearing are summarized. Meanwhile, the applications of self-adhesive ultra-thin electrodes in medical diagnosis and analysis and human-machine interface are discussed, and we are looking forward to the opportunities and challenges of the electrode in collecting electrophysiological signals.