Wim Christiaens | Quad Industries: How do you scientifically validate the performance of printed electrode stacks on human skin?
12:21 - 13:25
Other snippets from this talk
Summary of the clip:
How do you scientifically validate the performance of printed electrode stacks on human skin?
Evaluating the performance of flexible printed electronics on the human body requires systematic characterization and standardized testing. Wim Christiaens explains how Quad Industries benchmarks various electrode configurations and skin adhesives inside their specialized Quad Skin Lab. This testing environment validates the electrical and mechanical stability of complex multi-material stacks before mass production.
To ensure clinical safety and robust data acquisition, the lab relies on highly specific industry standards for physiological sensing. This testing regimen includes conducting ANSI/AAMI EC12 standard tests for electrocardiography (ECG) electrodes to verify low impedance and offset voltages. The electrode stacks also undergo rigorous defibrillation testing, cell-free biological compatibility testing, and physical wear tests to ensure survival in real-world clinical scenarios.
In addition to electrical characterization, the mechanical stability of the skin-adhesive interface must be continuously evaluated. Quad Skin Lab performs extensive sweat testing to observe how adhesives maintain contact with the epidermis during perspiration. By systematically compiling these results, they build a comparative material library that helps developers select the optimized combination of adhesives and inks for their specific medical applications.
In this short video, you can learn:
* How the Quad Skin Lab benchmarks different combinations of printed electrode stack-ups.
* The critical role of ANSI/AAMI EC12 testing and defibrillation testing in validating clinical electrodes.
* How sweat testing and wear testing are used to verify skin adhesive longevity.
š **Clip Abstract** [Wim Christiaens outlines the physical and electrical testing methodologies used to validate smart patch electrodes and adhesives in the Quad Skin Lab. He highlights the necessity of standards-based testing like ANSI/AAMI EC12 to ensure clinical safety and robust data acquisition.]
š Link in comments š
#AnsiAamiEC12, #PrintedElectrodeStacks, #DefibrillationTesting, #SweatTesting, #FlexiblePrintedElectronics, #WearableBioelectronics
This is a highlight of the presentation:
Scaling wearable printed electronics for mass-market applications
Future of Electronics RESHAPED USA 2026
10-11 June 2026
Computer History Museum, Mountain View, California, USA
Organised By:
TechBlick
More Highlights from the same talk.
06:38 - 08:30
Why is a seemingly simple medical skin patch actually a highly complex multi-material stack?
Why is a seemingly simple medical skin patch actually a highly complex multi-material stack?
The physical stack-up of a wearable smart patch requires a highly sophisticated integration of disparate chemical and structural layers. Wim Christiaens explains that the foundation begins with printing conductive inks onto flexible substrates like PET or stretchable TPU to form the electrical circuit. This printed circuit must co-exist with carefully selected medical-grade skin adhesives that are highly tuned to the specific wear duration and skin types of patients.
To ensure biological compatibility and robust mechanical coupling, engineers must carefully match the adhesive characteristics to the target patient group. For instance, a pediatric skin profile demands a completely different chemical adhesive formulation compared to an adult skin profile to avoid trauma during removal. Similarly, a patch designed for a 20-minute diagnostic session requires a different adhesive formulation than one engineered for a continuous seven-day clinical monitoring period.
The electrical interface to the body is established using conductive media like hydrogels or wet adhesives to lower electrode-skin impedance. Finally, this signal is routed to the readout hardware through specialized interconnection interfaces. Designers can select from a range of mechanical connection systems, including traditional snap buttons, spring-loaded pogo pin arrays, or custom-molded plastic connectors, depending on the spatial and mechanical constraints of the wearable system.
In this short video, you can learn:
* How stretchable TPU and flexible PET substrates are printed with conductive inks to form robust circuits.
* Why skin adhesives must be chemically tailored based on wear duration and patient demographic factors.
* The critical interface role of hydrogels and low-profile connectors in maintaining signal integrity.
š **Clip Abstract** [This clip breaks down the material-science complexity behind manufacturing medical smart patches, highlighting the stack-up layers from flexible substrates to adhesives. Wim Christiaens explains how physical comfort, long-term adhesion, and reliable electrical contacts must be engineered into a single, cohesive system.]
š Link in comments š
#StretchableTPU, #ConductiveInks, #ElectrodeSkinImpedance, #SkinAdhesives, #PrintedElectronics, #MedicalWearables
14:33 - 15:52
How do you transition a complex medical smart patch from low-volume prototypes to millions of units?
How do you transition a complex medical smart patch from low-volume prototypes to millions of units?
Scaling a disposable medical patch to volume production is a major manufacturing challenge that requires a deep convergence of process engineering and regulatory compliance. Wim Christiaens explains that because smart patches are single-use disposable products, designers must optimize the technology stack to match a "good enough" cost-performance ratio. Moving from a few thousand units to over one million pieces per month demands high levels of automation.
To achieve stable yields and consistent quality at scale, production lines must shift to automated roll-to-roll or high-speed sheet-to-sheet processes. This physical scale-up must run in lockstep with stringent medical quality management systems. Manufacturers must comply with ISO 13485 standards and register their facilities with the FDA to legally produce clinical-grade wearables.
In this short video, you can learn:
* The economic design principles required to keep disposable, single-use smart patches cost-effective.
* How process engineering and automation enable production volumes exceeding one million pieces per month.
* The regulatory hurdles, including ISO 13485 certification and FDA registration, required for medical scale-up.
š **Clip Abstract** [This clip discusses the engineering and regulatory challenges of scaling medical wearables to high-volume commercial production. Wim Christiaens emphasizes the necessity of designing for cost, implementing robust process automation, and maintaining strict compliance with medical standards.]
š Link in comments š
#RollToRollManufacturing, #MedicalSmartPatches, #ISO13485, #DisposableElectronics, #FlexibleElectronics, #PrintedElectronics