A MEMS-Based Wearable, Flexible Embedded High-Density Sensor With Self-Adhesive PEDOT:PSS Gel for HD-sEMG Monitoring

The gold standard for dysphagia detection is the videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS), which is the expensive equipment, radioactive, and carries the risk of inadvertent aspiration of contrast agents. Surface electromyography (sEMG) provides low-cost, noninvasive access to electrophysiological information and accurate temporal resolution but does not provide good spatial resolution. Five-point and nine-point Laplacian methods (FPM and NPM) can improve spatial resolution. However, metallic interfaces have high impedance and motion artifacts, especially for skin with similar neck curvature, and suffer from modulus mismatch. We designed an embedded high-density sEMG (EWHD-sEMG) sensor and reported a self-adhesive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/ poly(styrene-sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) gel that can withstand 250 g of adhesion with low modulus, low contact impedance (5 kO) and motion artifacts, and high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR, 26 dB). The sensor is made of biocompatible materials and is structured to wear comfortably. FPM and NPM improve the SNR and reduce the correlation from 1 to 0.01. In addition, the sensor can stretch 76.9% of the strain in 1000 repetitions and withstand multiple repetitions and long-term use of numerous sterilization methods. The sensor proposed in this thesis contributes to advancing and developing an sEMG-based clinical assessment of dysphagia.