Le Xing

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Electroencephalography (EEG) is a widely used non-invasive brain monitoring technique that records the electrical signals generated within the brain, with applications ranging from epilepsy to Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI). The electrode connecting the EEG instrumentation to the user’s scalp is a key part of this system which determines the overall performance. Traditionally, disc electrodes, or fingered electrodes to pass through hair, have been used, but with a very limited number of sizes and shapes available which do not reflect all users and head-hair types. Recently, 3D-printed electrodes have been proposed for allowing personalized manufacturing and more inclusive EEG. Current 3D-printed electrodes can be physically flexible for comfort, and allow recording without a conductive gel being added. However, they are formed by printing a base structure which is then coated with Silver/Silver-Chloride to make it suitable for non-invasive brain recording. This paper presents novel 3D-printed EEG electrodes with that can be made using a directly conductive flexible filament. The resulting electrodes are gel free, coating free, can be personalized, have reduced manufacturing time, and cost less compared to previous electrodes. Our electrodes are characterized in terms of contact impedance, contact noise, on-phantom signal recording, mechanical strength, and the recording of Steady-State Visual Evoked Potentials (SSVEPs) from volunteers. They have much higher contact impedance present compared to Silver/Silver-Chloride coated electrodes, resulting in higher contact noise and more susceptibility to motion artifacts, but offer a wide range of benefits for low cost personalized electroencephalography.

Christopher Beach

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Energy harvesting from human motion can reduce reliance on battery recharging in wearable devices and lead to improved adherence. However, to date, studies estimating energy harvesting potential have largely focused on small scale, healthy, population groups in laboratory settings rather than free-living environments with population level participant numbers. Here, we present the largest scale investigation into energy harvesting potential by utilising the activity data collected in the UK Biobank from over 67,000 participants. This paper presents detailed stratification into how the day of the week and participant age affect harvesting potential, as well as how the presence of conditions (such as diabetes, which we investigate here), may affect the expected energy harvester output. We process accelerometery data using a kinetic energy harvester model to investigate power output at a high temporal resolution. Our results identify key differences between the times of day when the power is available and an inverse relationship between power output and participant age. We also identify that the presence of diabetes substantially reduces energy harvesting output, by over 21%. The results presented highlight a key challenge in wearable energy harvesting: that wearable devices aim to monitor health and wellness, and energy harvesting aims to make devices more energy autonomous, but the presence of medical conditions may lead to substantially lower energy harvesting potential. The findings indicate how it is challenging to meet the required power budget to monitor diseases when energy autonomy is a goal.