Facile Fabrication of Robust and Reusable PDMS Supported Graphene Dry Electrodes for Wearable Electrocardiogram Monitoring

Graphene-based epidermal dry electrodes have generated wide interests in electrocardiography (ECG) monitoring to screen cardiovascular diseases in time. Nevertheless, the poor stability, mechanical strength, and integration are significant obstacles hindering further product marketing of graphene electrodes in health care. Herein, robust, reusable, and patterned graphene-based wearable dry electrodes are fabricated based on laser writing technology and supported by polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layers. After bending tests over 10 000 cycles and high-power ultrasonic treatments (5 h), graphene/PDMS electrodes are demonstrated to have excellent stability and reusability for ECG recording. Taking the advantages of the designable and efficient CO2 laser production technique, a staff-shape graphene electrode consisting of six chest-lead electrodes and corresponding lead lines can be facilely customized and fabricated according to users' somatotype to greatly simplify the acquisition procedure of 12-lead ECG, realizing the acquisition of V1-V6 ECGs for all-round cardiac monitoring. After thorough analysis of ECG patterns, the integrated chest electrode exhibits desirable sensitivity and reliability comparable to wet Ag/AgCl electrodes. The reusable graphene/PDMS electrodes are suitable for long-term ECG monitoring and the integrated electrode presents a novel strategy to wearable 12-ECG recording.

Automated summary

Graphene-based epidermal dry electrodes offer a promising solution for timely monitoring of cardiovascular diseases through ECG. However, challenges such as poor stability and integration have hindered their widespread use in healthcare. This study demonstrates the fabrication of robust, reusable, and patterned graphene-based dry electrodes using laser writing technology, supported by PDMS layers, showing excellent stability and reusability for ECG recording. Through careful design and analysis, the staff-shape graphene electrode exhibits sensitivity and reliability comparable to wet Ag/AgCl electrodes, making it suitable for long-term ECG monitoring and wearable 12-lead ECG recording.