Flexible Conductive Polymer Reinforced Polyurethane Foam for Real-Time Human Body Electrical Signal Sensing and ECG Peaks

In this work, silver/silver chloride (Ag/AgCl) gel patches used in electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring are replaced with flexible, lightweight, in situ polymerized conductive polymers. Specifically, the study focuses on integrating polyaniline (PANI), multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), and zinc oxide (ZnO) into castor oil-based polyurethane (PU) foam. The reinforcement process involved a combination of in situ polymerization and exfoliation, with aniline monomer concentrations varying from 0.5 to 2, while maintaining constant levels of MWCNTs and ZnO. The resulting highly conductive composite material was subjected to real-time ECG measurements. The composite demonstrated a favorable response, with peak ECG values ranging between 0.6 and 0.8 mV for standard gel patches, and the reinforced flexible PU composite showed promising and comparable results with a conductivity of 1817 sm $^{-{1}}$ . This innovative approach highlights the potential for enhanced ECG monitoring using flexible, conductive polymer composites.