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Dry Electrodes

Dry electrodes
manufactured in India

Dry ECG electrodes, dry EEG electrodes, and TENS/stimulation electrodes screen-printed on biocompatible TPU. No gel, no adhesive, no skin irritation. Printed with Ag, Ag/AgCl, and carbon inks using additive manufacturing.

What are dry electrodes?

Dry electrodes are conductive surfaces that can record or deliver electrical signals through the skin without wet gel, conductive paste, or adhesive hydrogel. Traditional electrodes require a gel layer to lower the impedance at the skin-electrode interface. This gel dries out, causes skin irritation during extended use, and requires preparation (often shaving and abrasion of the skin).

Dry electrodes eliminate this entirely. The conductive surface makes direct contact with the skin, enabled by the right combination of conductive ink chemistry and a flexible substrate that conforms to body contours. The result is electrodes that are reusable, comfortable for hours or days of continuous wear, and require no skin preparation.

Suryudey screen-prints dry electrodes using Ag, Ag/AgCl, and carbon inks on biocompatible TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane). The printing process is additive: material is deposited only where needed, eliminating the material waste of subtractive manufacturing.

Three electrode types

Each electrode type uses a different ink system optimised for its application.

ECG
Dry ECG electrodes
Record cardiac electrical activity without wet gel. Printed with Ag/AgCl and carbon on biocompatible TPU for stable bio-potential sensing. Suitable for ambulatory ECG, Holter monitoring, and wearable cardiac health devices. Comfortable for long-term continuous wear.
Ag/AgCl Carbon Cardiac monitoring Gel-free
EEG
Dry EEG electrodes
Record brain electrical activity from the scalp without conductive gel. Printed Ag/AgCl and carbon on flexible TPU that conforms to the scalp. Faster clinical setup, improved patient comfort, and potential for continuous at-home brain monitoring without gel preparation.
Ag/AgCl Carbon Scalp-conforming Gel-free
TENS
TENS & stimulation electrodes
Deliver electrical impulses for pain relief (TENS), neuromuscular stimulation (NMES), and electrotherapy. Printed with Ag, Ag/AgCl, and carbon on biocompatible TPU. Thinner and more conformable than conventional rubber-carbon TENS pads. Available on request.
Ag Carbon Pain relief NMES

Dry vs. gel electrodes: why it matters

The choice between dry and gel electrodes affects patient comfort, signal stability over time, and clinical workflow. Here is a direct comparison.

Property Conventional gel electrode Printed dry electrode
Skin preparation Shaving, abrasion, gel application None required
Skin irritation Common during extended use Minimal (biocompatible TPU)
Signal over time Degrades as gel dries (hours) Stable over days
Setup time 5 to 30 minutes (especially for EEG) Under 2 minutes
Reusability Single-use (adhesive type) Reusable
Conformability Rigid snap or adhesive patch Flexible, stretchable, body-contour
Thickness 1 to 3 mm Under 200 micrometres
Waste Gel, adhesive backing, packaging Additive process, minimal waste

Conductive ink systems

Each electrode application requires a specific ink chemistry. These are the three primary ink systems we use for dry electrode printing.

Silver (Ag)
Ag ink
High-conductivity traces and interconnects. Used for electrode wiring, bus lines, and connections to external electronics. Also used in stimulation electrode surfaces where low resistance is essential.
Silver / Silver Chloride
Ag/AgCl ink
The standard for bio-potential sensing. Ag/AgCl provides a stable, low-noise interface at the skin-electrode boundary, critical for ECG and EEG recording quality. The chloride layer minimises electrode polarisation and motion artefacts.
Carbon
Carbon ink
Flexible, biocompatible sensing and stimulation surfaces. Carbon electrodes offer good skin contact with lower material cost. Often used as the outermost layer in multi-layer electrode stacks for TENS and EEG applications.

Applications of dry electrodes

Ambulatory ECG and Holter monitoring
Continuous cardiac monitoring for 24 to 72 hours without gel degradation or skin irritation. Dry ECG electrodes maintain stable signal quality over the full monitoring period.
Wearable cardiac health devices
Consumer and clinical wearables that monitor heart rate and rhythm. Printed dry ECG electrodes integrate into chest straps, patches, and garments without adding bulk.
Clinical and at-home EEG monitoring
Scalp-conforming dry EEG electrodes that eliminate the need for conductive gel and technician-assisted electrode placement. Enables faster clinical setup and potential for overnight at-home brain monitoring.
Brain-computer interfaces (BCI)
Dry EEG electrodes are essential for practical BCI systems where gel preparation is impractical. Comfortable, fast to set up, and suitable for daily use.
TENS pain management
Thin, conformable TENS electrodes printed on flexible TPU for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. More comfortable and body-conforming than conventional rubber-carbon TENS pads.
Neuromuscular stimulation (NMES)
Printed stimulation electrodes for muscle rehabilitation, sports recovery, and functional electrical stimulation. Flexible electrodes conform to body contours for more uniform current delivery.
Neonatal and paediatric monitoring
Ultra-thin, soft electrodes printed on biocompatible TPU for neonatal skin that cannot tolerate adhesive gel electrodes. Developed in collaboration with St. Johns Research Institute.

How we manufacture

All dry electrodes are manufactured by Suryudey Plastic Electronics (SPEZL) at our facility in Mumbai, India. The process uses screen-printing, an additive manufacturing technique borrowed from the printing industry. Conductive inks are deposited through patterned screens onto TPU substrates, building the electrode layer by layer.

This process is fully additive: conductive material is placed only where the design requires it, with no etching, no chemical waste, and no subtractive steps. Multi-layer electrode stacks (for example, carbon sensing surface over Ag/AgCl reference over Ag bus lines) are built up in sequential print passes.

We work with medical device companies, research institutes, and hospitals. From prototype quantities to production runs, electrode designs are customised to application-specific requirements: geometry, ink chemistry, substrate, connector interface, and form factor.

Frequently asked questions

What are dry electrodes?
Dry electrodes are conductive electrodes that record or deliver electrical signals through the skin without wet gel, conductive paste, or adhesive. They use conductive ink surfaces (Ag, Ag/AgCl, carbon) on biocompatible substrates to make direct skin contact. Dry electrodes are more comfortable for long-term wear and eliminate skin irritation caused by gel electrodes.
What is a dry ECG electrode?
A dry ECG electrode records cardiac electrical activity without wet gel. It uses Ag/AgCl and carbon inks on biocompatible TPU to create a stable bio-potential sensing surface. Suitable for ambulatory ECG, Holter monitoring, and wearable cardiac health devices. Signal quality remains stable over days, unlike gel electrodes which degrade as the gel dries.
What is a dry EEG electrode?
A dry EEG electrode records brain electrical activity from the scalp without conductive gel. Printed Ag/AgCl and carbon on flexible TPU conform to the scalp without gel preparation. This enables faster clinical setup, improved patient comfort, and the potential for continuous at-home brain monitoring and brain-computer interface applications.
What are TENS electrodes?
TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) electrodes deliver low-voltage electrical impulses through the skin for pain relief and muscle stimulation. Printed TENS electrodes use Ag, Ag/AgCl, and carbon inks on biocompatible TPU. They are thinner and more conformable than conventional rubber-carbon TENS pads, providing more uniform current delivery over body contours.
Who manufactures dry electrodes in India?
Suryudey Plastic Electronics manufactures dry ECG, EEG, and TENS electrodes in Mumbai, India. Electrodes are screen-printed with Ag, Ag/AgCl, and carbon inks on biocompatible TPU substrates. SPEZL works with medical device companies, research institutes, and hospitals to develop application-specific printed electrode solutions.
How are dry electrodes different from conventional gel electrodes?
Conventional gel electrodes require a wet conductive gel to create a low-impedance skin connection. The gel dries out (degrading signal), causes skin irritation during extended wear, and requires skin preparation (shaving, abrasion). Dry electrodes eliminate gel entirely, are reusable, cause less irritation, need no skin preparation, and provide more consistent performance over long monitoring periods.
What materials are used in printed dry electrodes?
Three primary conductive ink systems: silver (Ag) for high-conductivity traces, silver/silver chloride (Ag/AgCl) for stable bio-potential sensing at the skin-electrode interface, and carbon for flexible sensing and stimulation surfaces. These are deposited onto biocompatible TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) substrates that are skin-friendly, flexible, and stretchable.

Need custom dry electrodes for your application? We work from prototype to production.

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