Electrode Properties – gel and adhesive
SALT CONTENT
|
Disposable Electrode
|
Chloride % |
|
EL500
|
10%
|
|
EL501
|
10%
|
|
EL502
|
4% (solid gel)
|
|
EL503
|
7%
|
|
EL504
|
4% (solid gel)
|
|
EL507
|
0.5% |
|
EL508
|
10%
|
|
EL509
|
n/a: dry electrode—use your own choice of gel
|
For electrical stimulation, generally, the lower the electrode salt content, the less skin irritation the subject will experience; this is because fewer salt ions are driven into skin during stimulation. This strategy puts more demand on the stimulator, because skin impedances are higher with low salt electrodes. There is no one size fits all requirement. For example, it’s possible to help mitigate the undesirable effects of higher salt content electrodes by stimulating the subject with bipolar pulses, instead of unipolar pulses.
SOLID
SOLID gels are gentler on the skin than WET gels at the same salt concentration. This is due to the higher water content in the WET gels that make them react faster and more aggressively on the skin.
- If there are two (2) electrodes with 4% salt , one (1) WET gel and one (1) SOLID gel, the WET gel would be more reactive/aggressive.
WET
-
10% is used for short term applications such as Resting ECG or Stress Test.
-
7% is a more universal gel and can be used for short and—for most subjects, though some react—long term
-
3% is a monitoring gel used for more than 24 hours.
-
1% is a sensitive skin gel, common (infants/elders).
-
0.5% in EDA/GSR electrodes.
DURATION
We do not recommend for applications running more than 24 hours.
IRRITATION FACTORS
Possible skin irritation can result from the gel or the adhesive on the body of the electrode.
Note—About 2 % of the population will react to any adhesives and gels put on a skin, regardless of composition or concentration.
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