Electrode Characteristics of Non-contact Electrocardiographic Measurement

The ability to take electrocardiographic measurements while performing our daily activities has become the peoplechoicefor modern age vital sign sensing. Currently, wet and dry ECG electrodes are known to pose threats likeinflammations, allergic reactions, and metal poisoning due to their direct skin interaction. Therefore, the maingoal in this work is to implement a very small ECG sensor system with a capacitive coupling, which is able to detectelectrical signals of heart at a distance without the conductive gel. The aim of this paper is to design, implement, andcharacterize the contactless ECG electrodes. Under a careful consideration of factors that affect a capacitive electrodefunctional integrity, several different sizes of ECG electrodes were designed and tested with a pilot ECG device. Avery small cotton-insulated copper tape electrode (2.324 cm2) was finally attained that could detect and measurebioelectric signal at about 500 um of distance from the subject’s chest. KCI Citation Count: 2