Micromolding Fabrication of Biocompatible Dry Micro-Pyramid Array Electrodes for Wearable Biopotential Monitoring

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Vinicio Alban ◽  
Haechang Lee ◽  
Hanul Moon ◽  
Seunghyup Yoo
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Skin Irritation ◽  
Electrode Impedance ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Solution Processes ◽  
Dry Electrodes ◽  
Array Electrode ◽  
Low Cost Manufacturing ◽  
Electromyography Signals

Abstract Thin dry electrodes are promising components in wearable healthcare devices. Assessing the condition of the human body by monitoring biopotentials facilitates the early diagnosis of diseases as well as their prevention, treatment, and therapy. Existing clinical-use electrodes have limited wearable-device usage because they use gels, require preparation steps, and are uncomfortable to wear. While dry electrodes can improve these issues and have demonstrated performance on par with gel-based electrodes, providing advantages in mobile and wearable applications; the materials and fabrication methods used are not yet at the level of disposable gel electrodes for low-cost mass manufacturing and wide adoption. Here, a low-cost manufacturing process for thin dry electrodes with a conductive micro-pyramidal array is presented for large-scale on-skin wearable applications. The electrode is fabricated using micromolding techniques in conjunction with solution processes in order to guarantee ease of fabrication, high device yield, and the possibility of mass production compatible with current semiconductor production processes. Fabricated using a conductive paste and an epoxy resin that are both biocompatible, the developed micro-pyramidal array electrode operates in a conformal, non-invasive manner, with low skin irritation, which ensures improved comfort for brief or extended use. The operation of the developed electrode was examined by analyzing electrode-skin-electrode impedance, electroencephalography, electrocardiography, and electromyography signals and comparing them with those measured simultaneously using gel electrodes.

scholarly journals Analysis of a Low-Cost EEG Monitoring System and Dry Electrodes toward Clinical Use in the Neonatal ICU

Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 2637 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark O’Sullivan ◽  
Andriy Temko ◽  
Andrea Bocchino ◽  
Conor O’Mahony ◽  
Geraldine Boylan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Separate Experiment ◽  
Electrode Impedance ◽  
Simulation Framework ◽  
Clinical Tool ◽  
Dry Electrodes ◽  
Neonatal Icu

Electroencephalography (EEG) is an important clinical tool for monitoring neurological health. However, the required equipment, expertise, and patient preparation inhibits its use outside of tertiary care. Non-experts struggle to obtain high-quality EEG due to its low amplitude and artefact susceptibility. Wet electrodes are currently used, which require abrasive/conductive gels to reduce skin-electrode impedance. Advances in dry electrodes, which do not require gels, have simplified this process. However, the assessment of dry electrodes on neonates is limited due to health and safety barriers. This study presents a simulation framework for assessing the quality of EEG systems using a neonatal EEG database, without the use of human participants. The framework is used to evaluate a low-cost EEG acquisition system and compare performance of wet and dry (Micro Transdermal Interface Platforms (MicroTIPs), g.tec-g.SAHARA) electrodes using accurately acquired impedance models. A separate experiment assessing the electrodes on adult participants was conducted to verify the simulation framework’s efficacy. Dry electrodes have higher impedance than wet electrodes, causing a reduction in signal quality. However, MicroTIPs perform comparably to wet electrodes at the frontal region and g.tec-g.SAHARA performs well at the occipital region. Using the simulation framework, a 25dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was obtained for the low-cost EEG system. The tests on adults closely matched the simulated results.

Low-cost manufacturing process for nanostructured metals and alloys

2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 2484-2488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis L. Brown ◽  
Srinivasan Swaminathan ◽  
Srinivasan Chandrasekar ◽  
W. Dale Compton ◽  
Alexander H. King ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nanostructured Materials ◽  
Manufacturing Process ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Bulk Material ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Limited Range ◽  
Pure Metals ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Machining Operations ◽  
Low Cost Manufacturing

In spite of their interesting properties, nanostructured materials have found limited uses because of the cost of preparation and the limited range of materials that can be synthesized. It has been shown that most of these limitations can be overcome by subjecting a material to large-scale deformation, as occurs during common machining operations. The chips produced during lathe machining of a variety of pure metals, steels, and other alloys are shown to be nanostructured with grain (crystal) sizes between 100 and 800 nm. The hardness of the chips is found to be significantly greater than that of the bulk material.

scholarly journals Non-invasive prenatal testing as a valuable source of population specific allelic frequencies

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Budis ◽  
J Gazdarica ◽  
J Radvanszky ◽  
M Harsanyova ◽  
I Gazdaricova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
High Reliability ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Variant Calling ◽  
Prenatal Testing ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Gold Standard Method ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Scale Population ◽  
Low Coverage

AbstractLow-coverage massively parallel genome sequencing for non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) of common aneuploidies is one of the most rapidly adopted and relatively low-cost DNA tests. Since aggregation of reads from a large number of samples allows overcoming the problems of extremely low coverage of individual samples, we describe the possible re-use of the data generated during NIPT testing for genome scale population specific frequency determination of small DNA variants, requiring no additional costs except of those for the NIPT test itself. We applied our method to a data set comprising of 1,548 original NIPT test results and evaluated the findings on different levels, from in silico population frequency comparisons up to wet lab validation analyses using a gold-standard method. The revealed high reliability of variant calling and allelic frequency determinations suggest that these NIPT data could serve as valuable alternatives to large scale population studies even for smaller countries around the world.

Evaluation of low cost manufacturing technologies for large scale composite ship structures

1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loc Nguyen ◽  
Thomas Juska ◽  
J. Mayes ◽  
Loc Nguyen ◽  
Thomas Juska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Ship Structures ◽  
Manufacturing Technologies ◽  
Composite Ship ◽  
Low Cost Manufacturing

The Use of Multifunctional Composite Materials in Large Scale Naval Applications

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger M. Crane
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Structural Requirement ◽  
Weapon Systems ◽  
Radar Systems ◽  
History Of ◽  
Manufacturing Techniques ◽  
Structural Loading ◽  
Naval Structures ◽  
Low Cost Manufacturing

Abstract The U. S. Navy has a long-standing history of ship design using metals. With the improvements in weapon systems, it is becoming increasingly critical to design ship structures not only to satisfy the structural loading but also to exhibit additional multifunctional properties. This is becoming evident with structures such as the Advanced Enclosed Mast Sensor System, AEM/S, which was installed on the USS Radford. This structure was designed to house radar systems and allow the passage of certain radar frequencies through the structure while simultaneously not allowing the penetration of radar at other frequencies. In addition, the structure was designed to reduce the ship’s detectability. This paper will present a summary of the large-scale composite manufacturing that is being considered for Naval Structures. These structures are being manufactured using low-cost manufacturing techniques and are incorporating multifunctional characteristics in addition to meeting the structural requirement of the application. This paper will provide a historical discussion on the use of composite applications in the surface fleet.

Organic light detectors

2020 ◽  
pp. 568-802
Author(s):  
Stephen R. Forrest
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Organic Solar Cells ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Thermodynamic Efficiency ◽  
Organic Light ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Device Reliability ◽  
Device Lifetime ◽  
Low Cost Manufacturing

This chapter introduces the major concepts governing the operation of organic photoconductors, photodiodes, and solar cells. Quantum efficiency, gain, noise, bandwidth, and the trade-offs between these parameters are discussed. Organic light detectors are used in sensing and communications, although the predominant interest is in solar cells. The unique properties of organics, including flexibility and conformability, also make them useful in applications such as position-sensitive detection and in imaging, as considered in this chapter. Methods for quantifying and measuring solar cell and detector efficiency are described, leading to a derivation of the thermodynamic efficiency limits for solar power generation. Materials and device architectures for minimizing energy loss include single and multijunction cells, singlet fission, and semitransparent cells. Quantifying and achieving very high device reliability is considered, along with criteria for acceptable practical device lifetime. Finally, we discuss processes developed for large-scale and low-cost manufacturing of organic solar cells.

Enabling High-Throughput, Low-Cost Manufacturing of OLED Display and Lighting Panels

2009 ◽  
Vol 1212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Long ◽  
Bruce E Koppe ◽  
Neil P Redden ◽  
Michael L Boroson ◽  
Tukaram K Hatwar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Light Emitting Diode ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Utilization Efficiency ◽  
Color Filter ◽  
Vacuum Deposition ◽  
Deposition Rates ◽  
Light Emitting ◽  
Low Cost Manufacturing ◽  
Deposition Technology

AbstractLarge-scale manufacturing of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels for lighting and display has been slowed by several manufacturing factors, prominent among which are low throughput due in part to the fine metal mask technology for patterning the red-, green-, and blue-light-emitting pixels and low materials utilization efficiency of the available vacuum deposition technology. To overcome these impediments to low-cost OLED manufacturing, Kodak developed a blanket white-emitting OLED architecture in combination with a pixilated color filter array to eliminate the need for fine metal masks and developed a vacuum deposition technology capable of high deposition rates and high materials utilization efficiency. These developments, taken together, allow much higher throughput and yield on fifth-generation and larger substrates that promise to enable low-cost manufacturing of OLED displays and lighting panels. This paper focuses on the deposition technology Kodak developed, a flash vaporization process that can deliver very high materials utilization efficiency at high deposition rates for small-molecule OLED materials without increasing material decomposition.

scholarly journals The Vagal Autonomic Pathway of COVID-19 at the Crossroad of Alzheimer’s Disease and Aging: A Review of Knowledge

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 537-551
Author(s):  
Claire-Marie Rangon ◽  
Slavica Krantic ◽  
Emmanuel Moyse ◽  
Bertrand Fougère
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Vagus Nerve ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Large Scale Testing ◽  
Cholinergic Pathway ◽  
Autonomic Pathway ◽  
Respiratory Rhythms

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic-triggered mortality is significantly higher in older than in younger populations worldwide. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is related to aging and was recently reported to be among the major risk factors for COVID-19 mortality in older people. The symptomatology of COVID-19 indicates that lethal outcomes of infection rely on neurogenic mechanisms. The present review compiles the available knowledge pointing to the convergence of COVID-19 complications with the mechanisms of autonomic dysfunctions in AD and aging. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is prone to neuroinvasion from the lung along the vagus nerve up to the brainstem autonomic nervous centers involved in the coupling of cardiovascular and respiratory rhythms. The brainstem autonomic network allows SARS-CoV-2 to trigger a neurogenic switch to hypertension and hypoventilation, which may act in synergy with aging- and AD-induced dysautonomias, along with an inflammatory “storm”. The lethal outcomes of COVID-19, like in AD and unhealthy aging, likely rely on a critical hypoactivity of the efferent vagus nerve cholinergic pathway, which is involved in lowering cardiovascular pressure and systemic inflammation tone. We further discuss the emerging evidence supporting the use of 1) the non-invasive stimulation of vagus nerve as an additional therapeutic approach for severe COVID-19, and 2) the demonstrated vagal tone index, i.e., heart rate variability, via smartphone-based applications as a non-serological low-cost diagnostic of COVID-19. These two well-known medical approaches are already available and now deserve large-scale testing on human cohorts in the context of both AD and COVID-19.

An Assessment of a Low-Cost Wastewater Disposal System after Twenty-Five Years of Operation

1987 ◽  
Vol 19 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 701-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. L. Reidy ◽  
G. W. Samson
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Wastewater Disposal ◽  
Industrial Base ◽  
Industrial Wastewaters ◽  
The Past ◽  
Gasification Process ◽  
Appropriate Treatment ◽  
Environmentally Safe ◽  
Coal Resource

A low-cost wastewater disposal system was commissioned in 1959 to treat domestic and industrial wastewaters generated in the Latrobe River valley in the province of Gippsland, within the State of Victoria, Australia (Figure 1). The Latrobe Valley is the centre for large-scale generation of electricity and for the production of pulp and paper. In addition other industries have utilized the brown coal resource of the region e.g. gasification process and char production. Consequently, industrial wastewaters have been dominant in the disposal system for the past twenty-five years. The mixed industrial-domestic wastewaters were to be transported some eighty kilometres to be treated and disposed of by irrigation to land. Several important lessons have been learnt during twenty-five years of operating this system. Firstly the composition of the mixed waste stream has varied significantly with the passage of time and the development of the industrial base in the Valley, so that what was appropriate treatment in 1959 is not necessarily acceptable in 1985. Secondly the magnitude of adverse environmental impacts engendered by this low-cost disposal procedure was not imagined when the proposal was implemented. As a consequence, clean-up procedures which could remedy the adverse effects of twenty-five years of impact are likely to be costly. The question then may be asked - when the total costs including rehabilitation are considered, is there really a low-cost solution for environmentally safe disposal of complex wastewater streams?

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