A team of researchers in the US has created a hair-like equipment for long-term, non-invasive monitoring of brain electrical activity.

The Pen State University team stated that the mild and flexible electrode directly connects to the skull and provides stable, high-quality recording of brain signals.

The future of Electro Encephalography (EEG) Monitoring may soon look like a strand of hair in place of traditional metal electrodes, wiring nets and sticky adhesive substances.

EEG is important for diagnosis and assessment of neurological conditions such as epilepsy and brain injuries.

In some cases, physicians need to monitor brain waves for a long time, for example, to evaluate seizures, sleep disorders and conditions affecting blood vessels and blood flow in the brain.

Researchers described the new electrode, which were shown to maintain stable performance even after continuously wearing more than 24 hours, in a study published in the Journal NPC Biomedical Innovation.

According to the researchers, this technique is promising for use in the clinical health care application besides consumer health and well -being products. Tao Zhou, senior writer of the paper published in the NPJ Biomedical Innovation Journal, said, “This electrode allows more consistent and reliable monitoring of EEG signals and can be worn without any attention, which enhances both functionality and patient comfort.” Jhou reported that EEG monitoring is a widely used method to measure brain electrical activity. However, the traditional EEG monitoring process can be cumbersome – and sometimes there may be mess. Its limitations make it difficult to use for continuous, long -term monitoring. Traditional EEG electrodes are also rigid, and when someone shakes his head slightly, they can move, so that the uniformity of the data can be compromised. To address these boundaries, the research team des One end is electrode. It resembles a small point and captures the electrical signals of the brain with the skull. There is a long, thin wire -like component emanating from the electrode, which connects to the monitoring system.

The device also uses a 3D-printable bioidacious ink that allows the electrode to stick directly to the scalp without the need for any sticky gel or other skin preparation.

This reduces the difference between the electrode and the skull, which improves the quality of the signal.

The light, flexible and stretchable nature of the device also means that the device remains stable even when combing and wearing and unloading baseball cap – and it can be worn for a long time, making it suitable for chronic monitoring.

The team found that the new device performed compared to the gold electrode, which are currently standard electrodes used for EEG.

However, electrodes such as hair maintained better contact between electrodes and skin and worked firmly for 24 hours continuously without any fall in the quality of the signal.

Jhou said, “If the position of the electrode has changed or the impedance has changed, you do not need to worry, because the electrodes are not moving.”