Strain-Insensitive Elastic Surface Electromyographic (sEMG) Electrode for Efficient Recognition of Exercise Intensities.

Surface electromyography (sEMG) sensors are widely used in the fields of ergonomics, sports science, and medical research. However, current sEMG sensors cannot recognize the various exercise intensities efficiently because of the strain interference, low conductivity, and poor skin-conformability of their electrodes. Here, we present a highly conductive, strain-insensitive, and low electrode-skin impedance elastic sEMG electrode, which consists of a three-layered structure (polydimethylsiloxane/galinstan + polydimethylsiloxane/silver-coated nickel + polydimethylsiloxane). The bottom layer of the electrode consists of vertically conductive magnetic particle paths, which are insensitive to stretching strain, collect sEMG charge from human skin, and finally transfer it to processing circuits via an intermediate layer. Our skin-friendly electrode exhibits high conductivity (0.237 and 1.635 mΩ.cm resistivities in transverse and longitudinal directions, respectively), low electrode-skin impedance (47.23 kΩ at 150 Hz), excellent strain-insensitivity (10% change of electrode-skin impedance within the 0%-25% strain range), high fatigue resistance (>1500 cycles), and good conformability with skin. During various exercise intensities, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of our electrode increased by 22.53 dB, which is 206% and 330% more than that of traditional Ag/AgCl and copper electrode, respectively. The ability of our electrode to efficiently recognize various exercise intensities confirms its great application potential for the field of sports health.

A clinical evaluation of a transparent, absorbent, adhesive wound dressing.

The performance of a transparent absorbent adhesive wound dressing (TAAWD) was observed over 7 days in five plastic surgery clinics across Germany. The study included 47 diverse postoperative linear wounds and donor sites with dry or minimal exudate levels. Data on ease of application and removal, adhesive strength, skin compatibility, conformability to the body, visual wound inspection and parameters of wound assessment were collected and analysed. At the end of the observation period, 100% of wounds were recorded as healing with no reported complications. Clinicians considered that the new dressing had predominantly met clinical needs in 89% of cases. The dressing was shown to be skin friendly, easy to apply, adhere and conform to the skin while protecting the wound and allowing the patient to shower. Due to its transparency, the dressing enabled direct wound surveillance without potential disruption to the wound and healing process.