Juhani Virtanen

Evaluation of dry electrodes in canine heart rate monitoring

The functionality of three dry electrocardiogram electrode constructions was evaluated by measuring canine heart rate during four different behaviors: Standing, sitting, lying and walking. The testing was repeated (n = 9) in each of the 36 scenarios with three dogs. Two of the electrodes were constructed with spring-loaded test pins while the third electrode was a molded polymer electrode with Ag/AgCl coating. During the measurement, a specifically designed harness was used to attach the electrodes to the dogs. The performance of the electrodes was evaluated and compared in terms of heartbeat detection coverage. The effect on the respective heart rate coverage was studied by computing the heart rate coverage from the measured electrocardiogram signal using a pattern-matching algorithm to extract the R-peaks and further the beat-to-beat heart rate. The results show that the overall coverage ratios regarding the electrodes varied between 45–95% in four different activity modes. The lowest coverage was for lying and walking and the highest was for standing and sitting.

Fabrication and characterization of nanocellulose aerogel structures

Nanocellulose is a promising new renewable and low-cost nanomaterial which has potential applications in many different fields from biomedical to electronic applications. Here, we report the fabricated aerogels from aqueous CNF and CNC dispersions using freeze-drying technique and analysis of their structural analysis using different microscopic techniques. Also, we report the development of dispenser for aqueous nanocellulose solutions to be installed into 3D-printer system.