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I would like to better understand how electrical signals within biological tissues are measured using simple wires. On one end, the exposed wire tip is embedded within biological tissue (for example, cardiac muscle tissue). On the other end, let's say that the wire is hooked up to an op-amp. For those who do not know, the cardiac muscle tissue will have oscillations in its ion concentrations local to the embedded wire tips. For example, suppose there is a 1 Hz sodium ion (Na+) concentration fluctuation that takes place near the embedded tip.

Below is a representative graphic of a bipolar electrode setup designed for differential amplification:

Picture

The exposed wire tips are embedded in the cardiac tissue, and then the insulated portion of the two wires extend over to the op-amp.

Here is my question:

How exactly is the ion concentration information of the biological tissue propagating through the wire and 'into' the op amp input terminals?

Are the electrons of the wires confined to each wire and simply being pushed towards or pulled away from the op-amp input terminals depending on the charge experienced at the tissue-embedded wire tips? Accordingly, the op-amp will see different electric fields near its input terminals depending on the concentration of the ions near the tips...and this is the underlying source of 'signal'. Perhaps my graphic below will better illustrate my description:

Electro

Or is something else happening? I know that batteries literally donate (and consume) electrons to the wires...but this seems different.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Extremely interesting bioelectrical (and biochemical) applications. I just learned something new. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Nov 22, 2024 at 4:21

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If you must think in terms of electrons, then you are sufficiently correct for your purposes. Just hook up the wires from the tissue to the op-amp inputs, and all will be well.

The electrons are confined to the wires laterally, they don't move sideways across the insulation, they are like pipes in that respect. At the ends, in contact with the op-amp or the biological material, they do move in and out of the ends of the wires, again like pipes fill and drain from their ends.

What goes on at the tips is rather complicated. If a current flows at the interface, then oxidation and reduction reactions occur changing the Na between +ve ion and neutral metal, while electrons are exchanged with the respective wire tips in the process (see electrolysis). Typically though, no significant current will flow into the high impedance op-amp as the wires will charge up very quickly. Charging stops when the tips reach an equilibrium voltage depending on the concentration of the various ionic species in their vicinity.

With only two electrodes, we only see the difference in ionic concentration and so voltage between the two tips. If we had a third remote electrode on the body, a leg-drive for instance, then we could take this as a 'ground' for the receiving equipment, such a connection is often used to control the common-mode voltage at the op-amp inputs. Without this third connection, the two wires you show will still faithfully transmit the differential voltage at the wire tips to the op-amp.

This is exactly the same principle as batteries driving a signal down the wires, the only difference being the magnitude of the signal. A chemical battery (lead acid, alkaline, lithium, whatever), they all work with oxidation and reduction reactions happening at the electrode electrolyte interface, shifting electrons into and out of the ends of their connected wires.

Your graph of the electron distribution along the wires is wrong, but it's not intuitively obvious given your apparent level of understanding why it should be wrong. Fortunately, that graph doesn't matter, so you can safely ignore it. As engineers, we just tend to think in terms of voltage and current, and leave electrons to the solid state and plasma physicists.

The differing ionic concentrations in the tissue do give rise to a potential difference between the tips.

There are two better ways to describe what happens after that.

One is to regard the pair of wires as transmitting the voltage between the tips to the op-amp end. If you can ignore how they do this, all well and good, they just do.

The other is the hydraulic analogy, water in pipes. A lot of people don't like this model for electricity, as it's so obviously wrong. Wrong as it may be, it is very useful. What it does do is give you a model for voltage, as pressure, which messing with electrons doesn't do until you are a lot more advanced. Consider each wire as a pipe for electrons, just like a water pipe is a pipe for water. With no or low flow, the pressure or voltage is constant along the pipe or wire. Electrons or water moving out at one end are automatically replenished at the other. This doesn't happen by law, or by magic. If they are not replaced, then the pressure or voltage of the wire or pipe becomes so overwhelmingly large with respect to its connections that the replenishment is forced to happen. Actually, it happens so reliably that it has been turned into a law, Kirchoff's Law

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Thank you for updating your answer. If you are so inclined, could you please tell me what the electron distribution graph should look like? Is it just a uniform distribution? \$\endgroup\$ Commented Nov 21, 2024 at 15:38
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    \$\begingroup\$ @S.C. Yes, it's flat, to all intents and purposes. The wire maintains the potential along its length constant, just like a pipe full of water, lying flat, would do. If there's a current flowing, then the potential (pressure or voltage) along the pipe or wire would vary slightly from end to end. Electrons physics is such that their concentration does not change meaningfully even when current flowing. While electron concentration, electric field, voltage etc are all related, it's not intuitively quantitive, and it's not necessary. Circuit theory just needs volts and amps, job done! \$\endgroup\$ Commented Nov 21, 2024 at 15:42
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    \$\begingroup\$ @S.C. See my comment on that poster's post. With an op-amp as the load, it's very high impedance, so for an ideal op-amp, no, no current flows. Your electrodes need to have no current flow otherwise they will polarise. Polarisation is a change of voltage due to a current-induced change of ionic concentration, which will change the very thing you are trying to measure. If the op-amp is replaced with a low value resistor, then yes, a current flows. Current will flow into a non-ideal op-amp, just not a significant amount, you can easily find op-amps with nA or even pA of bias current specified. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Nov 21, 2024 at 17:02
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    \$\begingroup\$ @S.C. You might want to specify whether you are measuring the full DC component, or whether you can AC couple to measure only the changes, the former is more difficult and subject to long-term drifts. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Nov 21, 2024 at 17:03
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    \$\begingroup\$ @S.C. tissue doesn't magically 'share a ground' with the equipment, unless you add one, a leg electrode for instance. Electrons get pulled off, and pushed into, the relevant connection wires, as Na+ and Na metal get converted, 'ground' is irrelevant. If ground is connected, then it's just another wire that also has these reactions going on at its interface. A very very tiny excess of electrons in one wire with respect to the other is what constitutes the voltage differenc ebetwen them. Creating this difference is called 'charging up', and is a very brief flow of current. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Nov 21, 2024 at 21:21
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Electricity is the flow of charge, not the build up of charge. Imagine AC current, where there is no actual redistribution of charge, the electrons just wiggle back and forth without going anywhere.

Batteries do not donate and consume electrons. Charge is always conserved. Batteries simply generate a voltage which will force electrons to flow through a conductive material. Every electron leaving one terminal is balanced out by one entering the other terminal.

I like to use this analogy: imagine a long tube connected to itself to form a loop, and it is just wide enough for 1 ping pong ball to pass through, and it is filled with ping pong balls so there is effectively no gaps between the balls. Imagine there is a little slot in the tube that lets you push the balls. When you push, that is like electricity, and the balls are like the electrons. You're just moving stuff that was already there around in a loop. Any disturbance you make at one point is almost instantly felt by all the ping pong balls. In reality, it isn't instant - it would travel at whatever the speed of sound through ping pong balls is. In the case of electricity, a disturbance travels through the electrons at the speed of light for a given conductor (which is typically 50-99% the speed of light in a vacuum depending on the material). It travels as an electromagnetic wave.

Biological tissue is a little bit different in that it operates via ionic current rather than electric current. This simply means that the charge carriers are made up of positive ions rather than negative electrons.

Directly interfacing the electrodes with muscle tissue is needlessly invasive and will result in relatively poor signal quality. The electrodes on their way into the tissue will develop a lipid bilayer on the outside which acts as an interface between the ionic and electric currents, allowing signals to propagate (always as an electromagnetic wave causing the movement of charge carriers).

It is much preferable, however, to use an electrode with gel. The gel acts an electrolyte, and the skin and electrolyte react chemically to form a half cell of a battery which allows very low impedance flow of signals from the ionic currents under the skin to cause changes in the half cell voltage measured by the op amp. This is much more effective than trying to directly contact tissue with probes (and much less painful!)

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    \$\begingroup\$ Electricity is the flow of charge, not the build up of charge for certain definitions of 'electricity'. I think the OP is more concerned with the volts here, rather than the amps. +1 for suggesting he stays outside the skin, though maybe he's already buried his electrodes, and that's not an option. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Nov 21, 2024 at 15:50
  • \$\begingroup\$ The invasive approach is preferred in certain contexts due to contamination from other underlying muscles in the case of non-invasive surface electrodes. But thank you for your input. Is current actually flowing through these wires? \$\endgroup\$ Commented Nov 21, 2024 at 15:53
  • \$\begingroup\$ I'd be careful with "charge is preserved"; that's not the case within parts of biological systems; you can very much concentrate anions in one place. Sure, something else will have less of them, but that something might well be very far away or excreted or something. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Nov 21, 2024 at 16:49

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