A Sweat Absorbing Skin Electrode for Electrophysiology During Exercise

• Published in: Advanced functional materials Vol. 34; no. 23
• Main Authors: Shi, Xiaohu, Song, Dekui, Hu, Wenya, Li, Chuqi, Zhang, Weifeng, Wang, Shiyu, Hu, Qianhuiwen, Wang, Yifang, Wang, Xin, Zhang, Yingying, Peng, Banghua, Wang, Zijun, Liu, Nan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-06-2024
• Subjects: Aerogels; Body size; Charge transfer; Electrodes; Electromyography; Electrophysiology; Machine learning; Muscles; Muscular fatigue; MXene aerogel; Perspiration; Polymers; Skin; Sweat; zwitterionic polymer; Zwitterions
• ISSN: 1616-301X; 1616-3028
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202314775

Electrophysiological signals are commonly used to assess health performance, providing valuable information on body status. However, stable signal acquisition by commercial Ag/AgCl gel or metal electrodes is susceptible to electrode/skin interface interferences due to perspiration and motion during exercise. To address this challenge, herein a sweat absorbing skin electrode (SAE) is designed, which can not only become softer and more adhesive but also enhance conductivity after sweat during exercise. The resulting stable interface between SAE/skin after sweat enables accurate and continuous electrophysiological measurement during exercise. SAE is demonstrated by assembly of MXene (Ti3C2TX) aerogel and zwitterionic polymer, where Ti3C2TX aerogel works as conductive skeleton and zwitterionic polymer endows skin conformability as well as expediting interfacial charge transfer by the inherent ions. SAE can monitor a variety of electrophysiological signals during exercise. As an example, electromyogram (EMG) signals are acquired to assess muscle fatigue, which is impossible by commercial gel electrodes. Via machine learning, the correlation between EMG and physiological markers (body fat percentage (BF) and body mass index (BMI)) are constructed. The research shows that sweat‐absorbing SAEs can reliably monitor electrophysiological signals during exercise, such as muscle status, leading to evidence‐based scientific guidelines for sports and rehabilitation training.
Current work reports a sweat‐absorbing skin electrode (SAE) that not only becomes softer and more adhesive after sweating during exercise but also enhances conductivity. It enables precise and continuous electrophysiological measurements during physical activities, providing guidance for exercise and rehabilitation training.