European engineers successfully enhanced a novel technology using temporary tattoo electrodes to record electroencephalography (EEG) brain activity. The technology doesn't cost much to manufacture, can be produced using an inkjet printer, and can measure EEG accurately as its traditional counterpart.
The technology was initially developed in 2015 and, at the time, showed efficiency in recording electromyography (EMG) and electrocardiography (ECG) data. It now has been optimized in order to record EEG signals.
The tattoo electrodes are designed using conductive polymers that can be printed using an ordinary inkjet printer. Based on clinical tests, the tattoo was found to be effective in measuring EEG signals and also saves a lot of time compared to applying conventional electrodes.
The temporary tattoo electrodes are worn by way of a wet conductive gel progressively drying out within several hours and make consistent measures over a long period of time.
One of the technology's creators, Francesco Greco from the Graz University of Technology, says that the tattoo is more comfortable and is cheaper than traditional wet electrodes.
"Due to inkjet printing and the commercially available substrates, however, our tattoos are significantly less expensive than current EEG electrodes and also offer more advantages in terms of wearing comfort and long-term measurements in direct comparison," says Greco.
While the tattoo electrodes are not exactly invisible, they don't interfere with the wearer the way EEG headsets do. This is the most exciting aspect of the technology, given a wearer can have it applied and forget about it. It is for this reason that the tattoo electrodes are suited for long-term use. To remove the tattoo, a good scrub with soap and water is all it needs.
As of this writing, the optimized tattoo electrodes is still a proof-of-concept demo and is not ready for commercial production. The processing of information still needs to be carried out by wiring the electrodes to an external device.
According to Greco, there are other research groups developing wearables that could even optimize the technology. There's also a huge potential that information can be wirelessly transmitted to a smartwatch or smartphone.
For now, further studies are needed, but these tattoo electrodes are easily the future of wearables that were once only seen in sci-films and novels.
You can read all about the research and development of the temporary tattoo electrodes in a paper published in the journal npj Flexible Electronics, or watch Greco explaining the technology below.
