Physiology‐Based Stretchable Electronics Design Method for Accurate Surface Electromyography Evaluation

Abstract

Stretchable electronics-based surface electromyography (sEMG) evaluation devices are expected to play a big role in clinical diagnosis. However, the stability and quality of the signals collected by existing stretchable electronics are too poor, especially when muscle movement is involved, making them inappropriate for high standard clinical diagnosis. Here, a physiology-based design method for stretchable electronics and a novel airbag-type stretchable electrode array (ASEA) device for assessment of the complex female pelvic floor muscle (PFM) is proposed. Clinical trials show that the ASEA device is able to provide stable contact interface and multi-channel accurate data acquisition. The stability and quality of the sEMG signal are much better than those obtained by the existing stretchable electronics-based PFM electrode devices. Furthermore, a muscle-unit evaluation method (MUEM) to assess the PFM complex state is proposed, especially its cross-interaction between muscles. Clinical trials show that MUEM can accurately and comprehensively assess PFM state and the correlations between main muscles, which unveils the mechanisms of some special muscle states that are not possible using traditional methods. This proof of concept research holds the promise for the development of new diagnostic strategies for muscle pathological research, and has the potential for clinical application and general implication.

Multifunctional Evaluation Technology for Diagnosing Malfunctions of Regional Pelvic Floor Muscles Based on Stretchable Electrode Array Probe

“…This configuration ensures a stable probe-muscle contact interface, and is able to follow the movement of muscle during muscle contraction, so that the ASEA can collect high-quality sEMG signals [ 27 , 28 ]. The fabrication process and details of the ASEA device are presented in our previous paper, and the results have demonstrated that the accuracy and stability of ASEA device are far superior to existing PFM electrode probes [ 22 ]. The design comparison between ASEA-based sEMG acquisition method and existing technologies can be found in Note S1, Figure S1 and Table S1 (Supplementary Materials) .…”

“…Recently, we developed a multifunctional evaluation technology (MET) based on an airbag-type stretchable probe (ASEA) [ 22 ] to diagnose the malfunctions of regional PFM. The ASEA is able to be inflated, so that it can fit vaginal cavities of different sizes and shapes.…”

Electric Field-Driven Jetting and Water-Assisted Transfer Printing for High-Resolution Electronics on Complex Curved Surfaces

“…Conformal printing on curved surfaces involves techniques like electrohydrodynamic (EHD) jet printing [31][32][33], aerosol jet printing [34][35][36], inkjet printing [37][38][39][40], laser direct writing [41][42][43][44][45], and adaptive 3D printing [46]. For example, EHD jet printing on irregular or rough three-dimensional surfaces faces challenges due to the real-time variation of electric field strength, leading to unstable jets and difficult-to-achieve high-precision and stable printing on complex surfaces [47][48][49]. Aerosol jet printing is limited by material viscosity and poor wire edge roughness, resulting in poor electrical performance consistency [50].…”

Imperceptive and reusable dermal surface EMG for lower extremity neuro-prosthetic control and clinical assessment

“…Flexible and stretchable electronic devices with excellent mechanical properties adaptable to the skin have tremendous advantages in healthcare applications, especially in the field of neuroprosthetics [1][2][3][4] . Surface electromyography (sEMG) sensors that record muscle signals on the skin are used as a clinical indicator to help with rehabilitation and treat diseases in a noninvasive manner 5,6 .…”