Parylene C-Based, Breathable Tattoo Electrodes for High-Quality Bio-Potential Measurements

Andrea Spanu; Antonello Mascia; Giulia Baldazzi; Benji Fenech-Salerno; Felice Torrisi; Graziana Viola; Annalisa Bonfiglio; Piero Cosseddu; Danilo Pani

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2022.820217

Parylene C-Based, Breathable Tattoo Electrodes for High-Quality Bio-Potential Measurements

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2022 Mar 23:10:820217. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.820217. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Andrea Spanu¹, Antonello Mascia¹, Giulia Baldazzi^{1

2}, Benji Fenech-Salerno³, Felice Torrisi³, Graziana Viola⁴, Annalisa Bonfiglio¹, Piero Cosseddu¹, Danilo Pani¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
² Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems Engineering Genova, University of Genova, Cagliari, Italy.
³ Department of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
⁴ Division of Cardiology, San Francesco Hospital, Nuoro, Italy.

Abstract

A breathable tattoo electrode for bio-potential recording based on a Parylene C nanofilm is presented in this study. The proposed approach allows for the fabrication of micro-perforated epidermal submicrometer-thick electrodes that conjugate the unobtrusiveness of Parylene C nanofilms and the very important feature of breathability. The electrodes were fully validated for electrocardiography (ECG) measurements showing performance comparable to that of conventional disposable gelled Ag/AgCl electrodes, with no visible negative effect on the skin even many hours after their application. This result introduces interesting perspectives in the field of epidermal electronics, particularly in applications where critical on-body measurements are involved.

Keywords: Parylene C; bio-potential; breathable electrodes; electrocardiography; tattoo electronics.