The 76th JSAP Autumn Meeting, 2015

Presentation information

Poster presentation

12 Organic Molecules and Bioelectronics » 12.3 Functional Materials and Novel Devices

[13p-PB8-1~21] 12.3 Functional Materials and Novel Devices

Sun. Sep 13, 2015 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM PB8 (Shirotori Hall)

6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

[13p-PB8-20] Electrical Measurement of Biological Activity Using Flexible Silk Electrode

〇YUSUKE TAKIZAWA1, Tatsuma Sonobe1, Hideyuki Takahashi1, Satoshi Watanabe1, Keichi Torimitsu1 (1.Tohoku Univ.)

Keywords:conductive polymers,silk,sensing

In recent, the construction of the system that can monitor body conditions of elderly people such as heart rate or EEG in real time has been demanded. It would contribute greatly to the field of home care and early detection of diseases.
The commonly used biopotential measurement electrode, such as Ag/AgCl electrodes and metal woven cloths, have poor flexibility, and be concerned to cause metal allergy. High flexibility enough to follow the movement of the body, and biocompatibility and electrical conductivity allow a material to be placed under in vivo condition, and to be a new electrode material for real-time monitoring and sensing during daily activities.
We made flexible and conductive silk electrodes by coating silk thread with conductive polymers. Compared with bare silk, the silk electrodes has similar smooth surface. We utilized them for measurement of biological action potential, such as heart beat potential and muscle potential.
Silk fibers and cloths were soaked in a mixed solution of 3, 4-ethylene-dioxythiophene (EDOT) and Iron (III) p-toluenesulfonate (Fe (pTS)3) and then they were dried in after heating procedure. Produced conductive silk have the flexibility and have left silk’s original softness enough to follow the movement of the skin. Because the silk is a biomaterial, conductive silk seems to be biocompatible. So we applied conductive silk to measure action potential by directly attaching silk electrode to the body surface.
Using the silk fabric electrode, the measurement of the muscle potential, and the electrocardiogram was carried out. Conductive silk was found to be available for the surface myoelectric potential measurement. In ECG measurement, using sports underwear with silk electrode, we obtained a clear electrocardiogram.
By polymerizing the conductive polymer, we added a conductivity to silk fibers and cloths. Conductive silk fibers could measure body surface myoelectric potential and the electrocardiograph. In the future, we would like to reduce the resistance value and noise of the electrodes, and optimize them for the practical measurement electrode.