A Wearable Flexible Hybrid Electronics ECG Monitor

Flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) integrate both traditional printed circuits, solder assembled standard and thinned silicon chips along with printable electronic materials and sensors. The combination results in high performance from thin, light weight, flexible devices that potentially could be manufactured at low cost. In this paper, flexible hybrid electronics technology is being used to develop a wearable ECG and skin temperature monitor. All components and materials were commercially available, and all fabrication processes were executed in manufacturing environments. The monitor is composed of a flexible polyimide substrate with printed ECG electrodes, a printed thermistor, and connecting traces printed on one surface, and the electronic components mounted on other. Both sides have copper metal circuits connected by copper plated through hole vias (THV). ECG signals are amplified, preconditioned and wirelessly transmitted via Bluetooth to a nearby handheld mobile phone or computer. The wearable monitor is 2x2 inches in size and has been demonstrated to produce high fidelity ECG signals at the host from both certified archived human ECG signals and ECG signals from human volunteers. The monitor reproduced the archived signals at the host from which a set of clinical parameters were calculated that closely matched those of the archived signals. Manufacturing challenges and device reliability will be discussed. Current work includes building upon this platform and integration of other monitoring and sensor devices included those that monitor for biomarkers in sweat. This work was sponsored by the NanoBio Manufacturing Consortium administered by the Flextech Alliance and funded by the US Air Force Research Laboratory.