AUTHOR=Inzelberg Lilah , Hanein Yael TITLE=Electrophysiology Meets Printed Electronics: The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neuroscience VOLUME=12 YEAR=2019 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2018.00992 DOI=10.3389/fnins.2018.00992 ISSN=1662-453X ABSTRACT=

Electroencephalography (EEG) and surface electromyography (sEMG) are notoriously cumbersome technologies. A typical setup may involve bulky electrodes, dangling wires, and a large amplifier unit. Adapting these technologies to numerous applications has been accordingly fairly limited. Thanks to the availability of printed electronics, it is now possible to effectively simplify these techniques. Elegant electrode arrays with unprecedented performances can be readily produced, eliminating the need to handle multiple electrodes and wires. Specifically, in this Perspective paper, we focus on the advantages of electrodes printed on soft films as manifested in signal transmission at the electrode-skin interface, electrode-skin stability, and user convenience during electrode placement while achieving prolonged use. Customizing electrode array designs and implementing blind source separation methods can also improve recording resolution, reduce variability between individuals and minimize signal cross-talk between nearby electrodes. Finally, we outline several important applications in the field of neuroscience and how each can benefit from the convergence of electrophysiology and printed electronics.