Grant: Engage Plus Grants Program

The electrocardiogram (ECG) is currently one of the most important tools used in the medical field to evaluate the health of a patient. In particular, it is often used in acute life-or-death situations where a rapid evaluation is necessary, for example when diagnosing a heart attack. Unfortunately existing systems rely on cumbersome electrodes that must be attached to the patient by a trained technician; these are not only uncomfortable but also cause an undesirable delay and are not suitable for long-term monitoring. A Montreal-based start-up is developing a novel electrocardiogram device to overcome these challenges. However, the realization of their device will require flexible electrodes and circuit interconnects to ensure patient comfort and optimum signal quality. This project explores printable flexible conductive and dielectric material systems to replace these conventional electrodes and interconnects. The findings will also have the potential to be useful for a wide range of engineering applications where printable flexible circuit designs are desirable or necessary.