Stanford University
Neural Interaction Lab

Research

To overcome limitations in physiologic data acquisition for human-computer interaction systems, researchers developed stretchable, foldable electrode arrays that non-invasively monitor signals like EEG, EMG, and ECG, enabling seamless integration with the human body for real-world applications.

Flexible Electronics

The bottleneck in developing novel physiology-guided human computer interaction systems such as BCIs is how the physiologic data is acquired. As such, our group began to collaborate with materials scientists so that we may pivot into also developing novel technologies that can acquire high-fidelity physiologic data from the human body. We go beyond conventional physiologic data acquisition systems which have limited ability to monitor people in their normal daily lives, in no small part because of the adage from physics: “in the process of measuring a system, you undoubtedly perturb it”. In a 2011 Science paper, our group has recently demonstrated foldable, stretchable electrode arrays that can non-invasively measure physiologic signals (including EEG, EMG, ECG) without the need for gel. The electrodes rely on layouts recently developed for silicon electronics that offer linear elastic responses to applied force, with the capacity to fold, twist and deform into various curved shapes. Stretchable electronics have the key advantage that they can wrap arbitrary, curvilinear surfaces and, at the same time, achieve mechanical properties that approach those of tissues of the human body (e.g. skin). These capabilities are especially significant for applications in skin-mounted devices to monitor physiology in mobile environments.

Publications

Illustration of research area flexible electronics
Stanford
University

Stanford University. Stanford, California 94305