Design and development of microneedle array-based electrode for bio-potential measurement

Conventional wet electrodes used in bio-potential measurement like EEG, ECG, etc., require the need for conductivity gel application on skin to wet the surface so that more contact area exist between skin and electrode resulting in better signal acquisition. Wet electrodes have certain drawbacks like the gel tends to underperform within one to two hours after application due to reasons like body heat. To overcome this drawbacks, dry electrodes are being developed which can be classified into two types; one penetrating skin and the other not. Both this type of electrodes has the advantages and limitations. The major drawback of filament type non-penetrating dry electrodes is that if the interest is in acquiring signals during motion, these electrodes tend to move relative to the skin resulting in noisy signal where as the microneedle can overcome this drawback by being continuously in contact with skin in all circumstances. In present work we have used micromachining technique to fabricate PMMA microneedle array. The study involves design of microneedle array, fabrication and mechanical testing of microneedles for skin insertion. It was found that for skin insertion upto 150 μm microneedles 7.5 N load was required and microneedles were structurally stable at this load.