Brain research|An e-tattoo printed on the scalp offers an easy way to measure brain waves.
The summary is made by artificial intelligence and checked by a human.
Brain waves can be observed on the surface of the skull with the help of liquid ink.
The ink is printed on the scalp. This removable e-tattoo replaces the wires of the traditional EEG test.
E-tattoos offer a more stable connection than traditional electrodes, whose adhesive surface frays before long.
Hair away, a printed e-tattoo on the head – and then your own brain waves to follow.
The work of brain researchers becomes easier. Researchers have developed a liquid ink that can be printed on the patient’s scalp. It facilitates the measurements of different brain waves and can be washed off after the measurement.
With the help of ink, there are new ways that do not have to interfere with the brain by drilling into the skull. Introducing new technology scientific journal Cell Biomaterials.
Biomaterials researchers in Texas, USA, developed an ink that offers a promising alternative for monitoring brain waves and how neurological diseases are studied.
Printed e-tattoos go down the neck. They replace the wires used on the top of the head in a standard EEG test.
“Biocompatible ink and sensors pave the way for the production of electronic tattooed sensors,” says Nanshu Lu. He is a biosensor researcher at the University of Texas at Austin, and one of the developers of the ink.
EEG i.e. electroencephalography is still an important tool when studying various neurological diseases. It is used to study and monitor, for example, brain tumors, epilepsy and brain injuries.
In a traditional EEG test in a hospital, data is measured from the surface of the patient’s scalp. Before the measurements, at least a dozen points are marked on it, where the researcher glues electrodes.
They are connected to devices that measure the brain with long cables, he says online magazine Science Daily.
This all takes time and is inconvenient. The patient may have to wait hours for EEG tests. He also has to sit still for hours, he says Medical Express.
Lu and his group developed small sensors instead. They also follow the body from the surface of the human skin. This technique is known as electronic tattoos or e-tattoos.
With e-tattoos has previously measured and monitored the heart, muscles and even armpit sweat.
E-tattoos are usually printed on a thin layer of glue. The work is done right before the tattoos are transferred to the skin. This is easy only in hairless areas.
Lu’s group designed a new liquid ink as an experiment. It is made of electrically conductive substances and does not irritate the skin.
This ink can even flow through the hair to the scalp as well. When dry, it is a thin-film sensor that picks up brain signals from the scalp well.
in E-Technology the researchers first use the computer and 3d models to design the spots for the EEG electrodes on the patient’s scalp.
Then they use an inkjet printer that is controlled digitally. It sprays a thin layer of e-tattoo ink on the head in the places that are marked.
In the experiments, e-tattoos were printed on the scalps of five test subjects. As an experiment, conventional EEG electrodes were attached next to the e-tattoos.
After six hours, the gel that was on top of the conventional electrodes started to dry.
More than a third of these electrodes did not pick up a signal. The rest of the electrodes touched the skin more and more poorly. The signal was no longer detected properly.
The connection of the E-tattooed electrodes to the skin remained stable. The connection lasted at least a day, and they collected brain wave data all the time.