Smart epidermal electrophysiological electrodes: Materials, structures, and algorithms

Abstract

Epidermal electrophysiological monitoring has garnered significant attention for its potential in medical diagnosis and healthcare, particularly in continuous signal recording. However, simultaneously satisfying skin compliance, mechanical properties, environmental adaptation, and biocompatibility to avoid signal attenuation and motion artifacts is challenging, and accurate physiological feature extraction necessitates effective signal-processing algorithms. This review presents the latest advancements in smart electrodes for epidermal electrophysiological monitoring, focusing on materials, structures, and algorithms. First, smart materials incorporating self-adhesion, self-healing, and self-sensing functions offer promising solutions for long-term monitoring. Second, smart meso-structures, together with micro/nanostructures endowed the electrodes with self-adaption and multifunctionality. Third, intelligent algorithms give smart electrodes a “soul,” facilitating faster and more-accurate identification of required information via automatic processing of collected electrical signals. Finally, the existing challenges and future opportunities for developing smart electrodes are discussed. Recognized as a crucial direction for next-generation epidermal electrodes, intelligence holds the potential for extensive, effective, and transformative applications in the future.