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. 2021 Jul 31;21(15):5195.
doi: 10.3390/s21155195.

Conception of a Phantom in Agar-Agar Gel with the Same Bio-Impedance Properties as Human Quadriceps

Margaux Peixoto  1   2 , Marie-Valérie Moreno  1 , Nassim Khider  2   3
Affiliations

Conception of a Phantom in Agar-Agar Gel with the Same Bio-Impedance Properties as Human Quadriceps

Margaux Peixoto et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

The physiology of the patient can be reflected by various data. Serious games, using an intelligent combination, could be based on this data to adjust to the specificities of the patient. Rehabilitation would therefore be personalized to the patient. This smart suit would use dry electrodes in order to be easily usable. Before performing dry electrode validation tests on a population, it is necessary to perform preliminary tests on a phantom. Agar-Agar (AA) gel, combined with NaCl and graphite which directly impact the resistivity and reactance values of the phantom, are generally used. Depending on the part of the body simulated by the phantom, it is necessary to adapt the concentrations of NaCl and graphite in order to obtain values of physiological reactance and resistance. The anisotropy of a muscle must also be considered. Different concentrations of NaCl and graphite have been tested in order to present charts linking the concentrations to the resistance and reactance values of the AA phantom. Electrical properties similar to those of human quadriceps are achieved at a concentration of 7 g/L of NaCl and 60 g/L of graphite. These values can be used as a conversion table to develop an AA phantom with electrical properties similar to different muscles. Furthermore, an AA phantom has an anisotropy of 0° and 90°. This anisotropy corresponds to a human quadriceps, where 0° is the direction of the muscle fiber. This will allow us to study and characterize the behavior of the electrodes on an anisotropic model. Thus it can be used as a first test phase for dry electrodes in order to propose the most suitable conditions for a connected garment application.

Keywords: NaCl; agar-agar; bioimpedance; graphite; muscle; phantom.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cole–Cole curve model [26].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Gradient of 4 AA phantom of different graphite concentration (0, 12, 24 and 36 g/L).
Figure 3
Figure 3
AA phantom simulating a human quadriceps (NaCl concentration = 7 g/L; graphite concentration = 60 g/L).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Test procedure and workflow diagram.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Evolution of resistance (R in Ω) as a function of the NaCl concentration of the AA phantom for frequencies ranging from 4 kHz to 128 kHz (Table A1).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Evolution of reactance (X in Ω) as a function of the graphite concentration of the AA phantom for frequencies ranging from 4 kHz to 128 kHz.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Comparison of the evolution of (R) versus (X) (Cole–Cole curve) for an AA phantom with and without the addition of graphite.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Evolution of X (Ω) depending on the weight applied to the electrodes (Table A2).
Figure 9
Figure 9
Polar diagram of the evolution of (Z) (Ω) as a function of the measurement angle.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Regression of (R) (Ω) per days (p < 0.001 *** for 4, 8, 18 and 40 kHz; p > 0.05 for 80 and 128 kHz; with R² equal respectively to 0.402, 0.389, 0.372, 0.377, 0.416, 0.471) (Table A3).
Figure 11
Figure 11
Regression of (X) (Ω) per days (p > 0.05, with R² equal respectively to 0.256, 0.519, 0.490, 0.127, 0.068, 0.301) (Table A3).
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