The mask contains five silver (Ag) thread-based hydrogel electrodes to translate ion-based biological signals into an electric current. (Credit: UMass-Amherst)

A new, lightweight eye mask can unobtrusively capture pulse, eye movement, and sleep signals, for example, when worn in an everyday environment.

The tailorable eye mask, named “Chesma,” is fitted with two kinds of fabric electrodes that can simply be sewn onto a variety of pre-made garments and further miniaturized, if desired. This capability allows the researchers to integrate electrodes into a lightweight foam mask for recording electro-oculography and cardiac signals. The design automatically positions the electrodes on the face with no need for custom fitting.

The mask also contains one fabric pressure sensor (PressION) positioned over an artery to monitor pulse as a proxy for cardiac function, with the whole linked to two microcontrollers with water-repellant silver threads as connectors. The electrode and sensor data need to be communicated once they are acquired. The design transmits raw data to the cloud for processing and data visualization to reduce the amount of instrumentation included in the mask itself.

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