All 3D‐Printed Soft High‐Density Surface Electromyography Electrode Arrays for Accurate Muscle Activation Mapping and Decomposition

Abstract

High‐density surface electromyography (sEMG) electrode arrays enable the recording of tens to hundreds of channels of electromyographic signals, which have found wide applications in clinics and human‐machine interfaces. However, current manufacturing technologies of high‐density sEMG electrode arrays generally involve high‐cost equipments, complicated procedures, and insufficient programmability, severely hampering the rational design and practical applications of customized yet cost‐effective high‐density electrode arrays. Herein, the facile and efficient fabrication of novel 32‐channel soft high‐density sEMG electrode arrays by an all‐printed technique based on multimaterial direct ink writing 3D printing is presented. By employing rational four‐layer stacked structure designs with systematic ink printability evaluation, it can successfully realize seamless interfacial integration during the multimaterial printing, achieving reproducible, programmable, continuous fabrication of soft high‐density sEMG electrode arrays. The all 3D‐printed soft electrode arrays exhibit excellent stability, low impedance, and high signal‐to‐noise ratio superior to commercial products with an increase of 32.2%. Such intriguing properties enable this all 3D‐printed electrode arrays the unique capability of mapping muscle activation of the forearm, and the motor unit action potential trains can be precisely identified for varying hand gestures to effectively explore the innovative human‐machine interface toward diverse applications such as teleoperation and prosthetic control.

Self-Adhesive, Self-Healing, and Water-Soluble Polymeric Dry Electrodes for Robust Physiological Signal Monitoring

“…10 By capturing and analyzing these biopotential signals, we can continuously monitor health status, achieve accurate disease diagnosis, and develop treatment strategies for clinicians. 11,12 The transduction of these biopotentials occurs through electrical interfacing with the skin via epidermal electrodes. 13 Consequently, for the accurate acquisition of signals from the human body, the electrode must meet numerous requirements, including low impedance for optimal signal quality, 14,15 great stretchability and adhesion for signal stability, 16−19 robust durability and self-healing capabilities for long-term reliability, 20,21 and water solubility for biofriendly properties.…”

“…Collecting electrophysiological signals, including electrooculograms (EOG), , electrocardiograms (ECG), , and electromyograms (EMG), , stands as a pivotal task to provide vital insights into the physical functions and states of the human body, bearing significance across multiple research fields, such as medical diagnosis, , health management, and personalized treatment . By capturing and analyzing these biopotential signals, we can continuously monitor health status, achieve accurate disease diagnosis, and develop treatment strategies for clinicians. , The transduction of these biopotentials occurs through electrical interfacing with the skin via epidermal electrodes . Consequently, for the accurate acquisition of signals from the human body, the electrode must meet numerous requirements, including low impedance for optimal signal quality, , great stretchability and adhesion for signal stability, − robust durability and self-healing capabilities for long-term reliability, , and water solubility for biofriendly properties. − However, traditional electrophysiological electrodes are significantly influenced by external interferences such as muscle movements or skin motion due to rigid materials, resulting in degraded signal quality, and compromising the precision and reliability during data collection .…”