Validating Poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) Polystyrene Sulfonate-Based Textile Electroencephalography Electrodes by a Textile-Based Head Phantom

Polymers (Basel). 2021 Oct 21;13(21):3629. doi: 10.3390/polym13213629.

Abstract

It is important to go through a validation process when developing new electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes, but it is impossible to keep the human mind constant, making the process difficult. It is also very difficult to identify noise and signals as the input signal is unknown. In this work, we have validated textile-based EEG electrodes constructed from a poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate:/polydimethylsiloxane coated cotton fabric using a textile-based head phantom. The performance of the textile-based electrode has also been compared against a commercial dry electrode. The textile electrodes collected a signal to a smaller skin-to-electrode impedance (-18.9%) and a higher signal-to-noise ratio (+3.45%) than Ag/AgCl dry electrodes. From an EEGLAB, it was observed that the inter-trial coherence and event-related spectral perturbation graphs of the textile-based electrodes were identical to the Ag/AgCl electrodes. Thus, these textile-based electrodes can be a potential alternative to monitor brain activity.

Keywords: EEG; PEDOT:PSS; conductive polymer; e-textile; head phantom; textile electrode.