Electrode Belt

The present invention relates to an electrode belt which can be used for the monitoring of signals representing pulmonary or cardiac events.

The invention is especially suitable for use with infants with an apnea detector and/or with devices for recording electro-cardiographic signals. The invention is also generally useful with patients of all ages.

Making connections to the skin of an infant for prolonged periods of monitoring for apnea or heart rhythm disturbances is difficult. Skin irritation must be avoided and good contact must be maintained in spite of movement and agitation of the infant. Attachment with adhesives oftentimes leads to skin irritation. Severe constraints are unacceptable, since they can interfere with infant breathing.

It is a feature of this invention to provide an infant electrode belt which can be comfortably worn, as by an infant around its chest, and which has electrodes of such design as to maintain comfort while making good conductive contact to the skin.

It is a further feature of the invention to provide an electrode belt which is washable and may be reused.

Briefly described, an electrode belt in accordance with the invention includes a strip of soft pliable material with a sheet of conductive, flexible and compliant material, such as conductive silicone rubber to provide an electrode pad. The pad is attached to the belt with a fastener having opposed plates. Preferably, a snap fastener is used. The plates clamp the pad to the strip. The pad and strip have adjacent sides in contact. The sides opposite to these adjacent sides are clamped together to form a cup shape depression which provides a suction cup area. When the pad is placed on the skin, preferably after having water or conductive gel applied thereto, a good contact, which is maintained without skin irritation, is made. The belt may be held around the chest with one or more pad and fastener assemblies through the use of a buckle. The buckle may be a strip of hook type closure material (e.g., Velcro material) which attaches to the backing of the belt. The belt is preferably foam material having a pile backing to which the strip of hook type closure material readily attaches itself.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from a reading of the following description in connection with accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an infant wearing a belt provided by the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the outside of the belt.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the inside of the belt;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view along line 4--4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the belt.

Referring to FIG. 1, an infant 10 being monitored has a belt 12 provided with the invention around its chest. Leads 16 are attached to connectors 14 on the outside of the belt 12. These connectors attach electrode pads to the inside of the belt. The leads 16 go to an apnea detector and may also go to an electrocardiograph or a recorder for pneumogram and/or electrocardiogram signals.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5, the belt 12 is a strip of soft pliable material, suitably two inches wide and eighteen inches long, so as to fit around the chest of infants of different sizes. The belt is composed of a core 18 of plastic foam. The belt has backings 20 and 22 of pile material, for example of nylon or non-woven material, which is attached to the foam by laminating. The belt is compressible because of the material thereof. A buckle 24 of hook type closure material (e.g., Velcro material) is attached to the pile backing on the outside of the belt at one end thereof. When the belt is brought around the infant'chest the free end of the buckle 24 may be attached to the backing in an area thereof on the opposite end 26 of the belt, spaced a sufficient distance to comfortably fit the belt around the infant's chest.

A plurality of electrode pads 28, 30 and 32 are attached to the belt, spaced from each other to be in proximity to the areas on the chest from which electrocardiogram (cardiac) or pneumogram (pulmonary) signals are to be derived. These pads 28, 30 and 32 are similar. The pad 28, for example, is a sheet of conductive and flexible and impervious material, preferably silicone rubber. The sheet providing the pad 28 is attached to the belt strip 12 by a conductive snap having opposed plates 34 and 36. The plate 34 is an eyelet plate having a prong 38 extending therefrom. The plate 36 is a flange of a snap 40. The prong 38 is press fit into the snap 40 so that the plates 34 and 36 compress the flexible material of the belt core 18. A depression 42 provides a suction cup area. This area is desirably moistened with water from a saline solution, which is conductive or, more preferably, with conductive gel. Accordingly, when the pad 28 is in place against the skin of the infant, suction assists in making good conductive contact between the electrode, the inside plate 34 and the skin of the infant.

The leads 16 may have female snaps on fasteners (not shown) at the end thereof. The snap 40 provides means for attachment of the leads which may be snapped on to the snaps 40, preferably before attaching the belt around the chest of the infant.

The film adherence of the electrode to the position at which it is placed on the infant's chest by suction provides for good contact which reduces artifacts in the signals derived by the electrodes. The need for adhesives which may cause skin irritation is avoided. Accordingly, the belt may be used for prolonged periods of monitoring. The belt is also washable and reusable.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that there has been provided an improved electrode belt. Variations and modifications in the belt illustrated herein, within the scope of the invention, will undoubtly suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the foregoing description should be taken as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.