Biopotential Electrodes: Transducing Body Ionic Currents into Electronic Currents

1. Chapter 5-Webster Biopotential Electrodes Note: Some of the figures in this presentation have been taken from reliable websites in the internet

2. Outline - Basic mechanism of transduction process - Electrical characteristics of biopotential electrodes - Different type of biopotential electrodes - Electrodes used for ECG, EEG, MEG, and intracellular electrodes

3. Biopotential Electrodes - A transducer that convert the body ionic current in the body into the traditional electronic current flowing in the electrode. - Able to conduct small current across the interface between the body and the electronic measuring circuit.

4. Electrode-Electrolyte Interface Oxidation reaction causes atom to lose electron Reduction reaction causes atom to gain electron Oxidation is dominant when the current flow is from electrode to electrolyte, and reduction dominate when the current flow is in the opposite. Oxidation Reduction cation anion Current flow Current flow

5. Half-Cell Potential Certain mechanism separate charges at the metal-electrolyte interface results in one type of charge is dominant on the surface of the metal and the opposite charge is concentrated at the immediately adjacent electrolyte. Half-Cell potential is determined by - Metal involved - Concentration of its ion in solution - Temperature - And other second order factor

6. Half-Cell Potential Half-cell potential for common electrode materials at 25 o C Standard Hydrogen electrode Electrochemists have adopted the Half- Cell potential for hydrogen electrode to be zero. Half-Cell potential for any metal electrode is measured with respect to the hydrogen electrode.

7. http://www.splung.com/content/ sid/3/page/batteries http://www.doitpoms.ac.uk/tlplib/batteries/basic_principles.php http://www.blackgold.ab.ca/ict/Division4/Science/Div.%204/Voltaic%20Cells/Voltaic.htm Oxidation Reduction -

8. Polarization Half cell potential is altered when there is current flowing in the electrode due to electrode polarization. Overpotential is the difference between the observed half-cell potential with current flow and the equilibrium zero-current half-cell potential. Mechanism Contributed to overpotential - Ohmic overpotential : voltage drop along the path of the current, and c urrent changes resistance of electrolyte and thus, a voltage drop does not follow ohms law. - Concentration overpotential: Current c hanges the distribution of ions at the electrode-electrolyte interface - Activation overpotential: current changes the rate of oxidation and reduction. Since the activation energy barriers for oxidation and reduction are different, the net activation energy depends on the direction of current and this difference appear as voltage. Note: Polarization and impedance of the electrode are two of the most important electrode properties to consider.

9. Half Cell Potential and Nernst Equation When two ionic solutions of different concentration are separated by semipermeable membrane, an electric potential exists across the membrane. a 1 and a 2 are the activity of the ions on each side of the membrane. Ionic activity is the availability of an ionic species in solution to enter into a reaction. Note : ionic activity most of the time equal the concentration of the ion If the activity is not unity (activity does not equal concentration) then the cell potential is For the general oxidation-reduction reaction, the Nernst equation for half cell potential is

10. Example 5.1 An electrode consisting of a piece of Zn with an attached wire and another electrode consisting of a piece of Ag coated with a layer of AgCl and an attached wire are placed in a 1 M ZnCl 2 solution (activities of Zn 2+ and Cl - are approximately unity) to form an electrochemical cell that is maintained at a temperature of 25 o C. a. What chemical reactions might you expect to see at these electrodes? b. If a very high input impedance voltmeter were connected between these electrodes, what would it read? c. If the lead wires from the electrodes were shorted together, would a current flow? How would this affect the reactions at the electrodes? d. How would you expect the voltage of the cell immediately following removal of the short circuit?

11. Polarizable and Nonpolarizable Electrodes Perfectly Polarizable Electrodes Electrodes in which no actual charge crosses the electrode-electrolyte interface when a current is applied. The current across the interface is a displacement current and the electrode behaves like a capacitor. Overpotential is due concentration. Example : Platinum electrode Perfectly Non-Polarizable Electrode Electrodes in which current passes freely across the electrode- electrolyte interface, requiring no energy to make the transition. These electrodes see no overpotentials. Example: Ag/AgCl Electrode Example: Ag-AgCl is used in recording while Pt is used in stimulation

12. The Silver/Silver Chloride Electrode Approach the characteristic of a perfectly nonpolarizable electrode Advantage of Ag/AgCl is that it is stable in liquid that has large quantity of Cl - such as the biological fluid. Ag AgCl Ag/AgCl exhibits less electric noise than the equivalent metallic Ag electrode. 1.5 v Read in text other process to make electrode such as sintering process.

13. The Silver/Silver Chloride Electrode Silver chlorides rate of precipitation and of returning to solution is a constant K s know as the solubility product. For biological fluid where Cl - ion is relatively high

14. Example 5.2 An AgCl surface is grown on an Ag electrode by the electrolytic process described in the previous paragraph. The current passing through the cell is measured and recorded during the growth of the AgCl layer and is found to be represented by the equation I = 100e -t/10s mA a) If the reaction is allowed to run for a long period of time, so that the current at the end of this period is essentially zero; how much charge is removed from the battery during this reaction? b) How many grams of AgCl are deposited on the Ag electrodes surface by this reaction?

15. Electrode Behavior and Circuit Models metal + + + + + + + + Electrolyte - - - - - - - - R d and C d make up the impedance associated with electrode-electrolyte interface and polarization effects. R s is associated with interface effects and due to resistance in the electrolyte.

16. Characteristic of Electrode The characteristic of an electrode is - Sensitive to current density - Waveform and frequency dependent

17. Electrode Behavior and Circuit Models metal + + + + + + + + Electrolyte - - - - - - - - 1 cm 2 nickel-and carbon-loaded silicone rubber electrode

18. Electrode Behavior and Circuit Models To model an electrode (test electrode), it was placed in a physiological saline bath in the laboratory, along with an Ag/AgCl electrode (reference electrode) having a much grater surface area and a known half-cell potential of 0.233 V. The dc voltage between the two electrodes is measured with a very-high- impedance voltmeter and found to be 0.572 V with the test electrode negative. The magnitude of the impedance between the two electrodes is measured as a function of frequency at very low currents; it is shown below. From these data, determine a circuit model for the electrode.

19. Electrode Behavior and Circuit Models 0.233 V E x Test Electrode Reference Electrode + - 0.572

20. The Electrode-Skin Interface and Motion Artifact Transparent electrolyte gel containing Cl - is used to maintain good contact between the electrode and the skin.

21. The Electrode-Skin Interface A body-surface electrode is placed against skin, showing the total electrical equivalent circuit obtained in this situation. Each circuit element on the right is at approximately the same level at which the physical process that it represents would be in the left-hand diagram. For 1 cm 2 , skin impedance reduces from approximately 200K at 1Hz to 200 at 1MHz.

22. Motion Artifact When polarizable electrode is in contact with an electrolyte, a double layer of charge forms at the interface. Movement of the electrode will disturb the distribution of the charge and results in a momentary change in the half cell potential until equilibrium is reached again. Motion artifact is less minimum for nonpolarizable electrodes. Signal due to motion has low frequency so it can be filtered out when measuring a biological signal of high frequency component such as EMG or axon action potential. However, for ECG, EEG and EOG whose frequencies are low it is recommended to use nonpolarizable electrode to avoid signals due to motion artifact.

23. Body-Surface Recording Electrode Metal-Plate Electrodes Body-surface biopotential electrodes (a) Metal-plate electrode used for application to limbs. (b) Metal-disk electrode applied with surgical tape. (c) Disposable foam-pad electrodes, often used with electrocardiograph monitoring apparatus.

24. Body-Surface Recording Electrode Suction Electrodes A metallic suction electrode is often used as a precordial electrode on clinical electrocardiographs. No need for strap or adhesive and can be used frequently . Higher source impedance since the contact area is small

25. Body-Surface Recording Electrode Floating Electrodes The recess in this electrode is formed from an open foam disk, saturated with electrolyte gel and placed over the metal electrode. Minimize motion artifact Double-sided Adhesive-tape ring Insulating package Metal disk Electrolyte gel in recess (a) (b) (c) Snap coated with Ag-AgCl External snap Plastic cup Tack Plastic disk Foam pad Capillary loops Dead cellular material Germinating layer Gel-coated sponge

26. Body-Surface Recording Electrode Flexible Electrodes Flexible body-surface electrodes (a) Carbon- filled silicone rubber electrode. (b) Flexible thin-film neonatal electrode. (c) Cross-sectional view of the thin-film electrode in (b). Used for newborn infants . Compatible with X-ray Electrolyte hydrogel material is used to hold electrodes to the skin.

27. Internal Electrodes No electrolyte-skin interface No electrolyte gel is required Needle and wire electrodes for percutaneous measurement of biopotentials (a) Insulated needle electrode. (b) Coaxial needle electrode. (c) Bipolar coaxial electrode. (d) Fine- wire electrode connected to hypodermic needle, before being inserted. (e) Cross- sectional view of skin and muscle, showing coiled fine- wire electrode in place. For EMG Recording

28. Internal Electrodes Electrodes for detecting fetal electrocardiogram during labor, by means of intracutaneous needles (a) Suction electrode. (b) Cross-sectional view of suction electrode in place, showing penetration of probe through epidermis. (c) Helical electrode, which is attached to fetal skin by corkscrew type action.

29. Electrode Arrays (a) One-dimensional plunge electrode array 10mm long, 0.5mm wide, and 125 m thick , used to measure potential distribution in the beating myocardium (b) Two-dimensional array, used to map epicardial potential and (c) Three- dimensional array, each tine is 1,5 mm

30. Microelectrodes Used in studying the electrophysiology of excitable cells by measure potential differences across the cell membrane. Electrode need to be small and strong to penetrate the cell membrane without damaging the cell. Tip diameters = 0.05 to 10 m

31. Microelectrodes Figure 5.18 Structures of two supported metal microelectrodes (a) Metal-filled glass micropipet. (b) Glass micropipet or probe, coated with metal film. The structure of a metal microelectrode for intracellular recordings.

32. Microelectrodes A glass micropipet electrode filled with an electrolytic solution (a) Section of fine-bore glass capillary. (b) Capillary narrowed through heating and stretching. (c) Final structure of glass-pipet microelectrode.

33. Electrodes For Electric Stimulation of Tissue Current and voltage waveforms seen with electrodes used for electric stimulation (a) Constant-current stimulation. (b) Constant-voltage stimulation. (a) Polarization potential Polarization Polarization i i t t t t Ohmic potential (b) Polarization potential