Adhesiveness
The adhesiveness of ST-gel can be adjusted from high level such as biomedical adhesive tape to very low adhesive products.
Electrical conductivity
ST-gel can be made ionically conductive by including electrolytes. Products can be made compatible from low impedance for ECG and other biomedical sensors to high impedance for TENS and stimulation electrodes.
Elasticity
General gel products are elastic and have a low tensile strength. However, we also have a low adhesiveness, high tensile strength highly elastic type (in development).
Safety & Stability
By using our company's original polymerization technologies and reactivity controll, "residual monomer" of ST-gel is veduced to low level making St-gel a safe material that is gentle on the skin.
Processability
Gel hardness and gel thickness can be adjusted. The gel can also be combined with other materials.
- Example of ST-gel used in ECG electrode
When ST-gel is used for biomedical electrode applications, it allows for arbitrary control of conductive performance from high precision ECG monitoring electrodes which need to be able to receive extremely weak electrical signals, to electrodes for electrical therapeutic equipment which needs to be able to stabilize and transmit electrical signals and control conductivity of the amount of electricity delivered to skin.
ST-gel Structure and Electrical Performance
- Polymer Matrix Image
In general, ionic conduction materials are able to transmit electrical signals as free electrons through combination with electrode elements. However, products up until now suffered from a flaw where contact impedance would grow as a result of electrical resistance in the contact interface with the electrode element material in addition to impedance. ST-gel is able to lessen this electrical resistance and transmit weak electrical signals in a highly precise manner.
ECG Electrode Characteristics (Based on AAMI Disposable ECG Electrodes)
| AAMI (United States Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation) Standards | ECG Electrode using ST-gel | |
|---|---|---|
| Electrode Pair Voltage (mV) | 100 or less | 0.5 |
| Electrode Pair Impedance(Ω) | 2000 or less | 150 |
| Electrode Defibrillation Tolerance 5-sec (mV) | 100 or less | 15 |
