Semi-Disposable Self-Adhesive Sensor System for Wearable Electrocardiogram Detection

Electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring is vital for diagnosing cardiac rhythm and rate disorders. Wearable ECG sensor system are promising alternatives to conventional, in-hospital healthcare systems. In this study, a wearable and semi-disposable ECG system is developed based on the self-adhesive ECG sensor patch. The patch is designed with two sensor electrodes on the silicone adhesive film. By using the silicone based conductive paste with cobweb structure, highly conductive and stretchable electrodes can be achieved. This design also enables the sensor patch to be fabricated using large area coating process and strongly adhered to the skin surface with low electrode-to-skin impedance. The conductive magnets are introduced for electrical connection between the ECG sensor patch and the readout circuit board. The two connected magnets show stable electrical performance under large dynamic tension loading. The use of conductive magnets also enables easy integration and reusability of the circuit boards with batteries to the ECG sensor patch. The developed ECG sensor system was worn on a volunteer for real-time test. The results show that the circuit boards with batteries can be reused by the magnetic connection design and the quality of the measured signal will not be affected after normal activities.