Electrode apron for ECG

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ELECTRODES APRON FOR ECG r

The present invention relates to the field of accessories used in devices formedical testing. More specifically, the present invention relates to anelectrodes apron for use in the electrocardiogram (hereinafter called ECG)medical testing.

An ECG test is a test which is performed by means of an appropriate testingdevice. The device measures the potential differences between various selectedpoints on the body of a person to be examined (hereinafter called “patient”).These potential differences mirror the electronic activities of the heart muscle.The measurement is done by way of attaching electrodes to the body of apatient in predetermined places. These electrodes then transfer the electronicinformation to the testing device. The electrodes are placed around the heart atpoints between the ribs, known as points VI to V5, two are attached on thearms and two are attached on the legs.

In the present, well known ECG tests, 10 separate electrodes are attached tothe patient’s body. In order to attach the electrodes to the body of the patient,disposable electrodes are attached with special glue or with suction buttonswhich cause discomfort to the patient. Furthermore, a special gel is spread overthe attachment points in order to improve the electronic conductivity. Whenthe patient is a male, it is sometimes necessary to shave off hair at the point ofattachment.

The present situation, in which ten separate electrodes are attached to thepatient, is awkward because of the use of ten separate conductors, which havea tendency to interfere with each other, and because of the need to glue them tothe body of the patient. Discomfort is also caused because of the need to usesuction buttons, or to shave the hair prior to placing the conductors on thepatients body.

The placement of the electrodes on the patients body requires experience andanatomical knowledge which is not always found among the medical staff. As 2 a result, often the electrodes are improperly positioned. When the attachmentto the body is not accurate, electronic noises are caused together withdisruptions of electronic conductivity. These occurrences cause difficulties inthe interpretation of data received. WO/94/17729 to Rollman et al. describes an inelastic belt-like strip forrecording electrocardiograms having a series of six separate precordialelectrodes, three fixed and three independently movable leads with electrodesand movable within a fixed range. However, there still exists the risk ofincorrectly locating the electrodes.

The present invention relates to an electrodes apron for ECG which iscomprised of an apron cast from flexible material to be placed over the chestof the patient, ten electrodes inlaid within the apron in predetermined placeswherein six of the said electrodes are located at predetermined distancesbetween the ribs, two under each shoulder and two at both sides of thestomach. Either curved or spiraled conductors are cast within flexible materialand each conductor is connected to an electrode. A multiple-pronged cablefeeds each of the conductors and includes a connector for connecting the apronto a measuring device. The apron also has straps and a belt for tightening theapron on the body of the patient. The two electrodes positioned on the twosides of the stomach are those placed on the legs in the state of the art methods.The two electrodes placed under each shoulder are those placed on the handsin the state of the art methods.

Another preferred embodiment of the present invention is an apron having twobracelets for attaching to the arms of the patient (hereinafter called electrodebracelet apron).Instead of straps for tying, the two bracelets on both sides ofthe apron are attached to the arms of the patient and when the arms of thepatient are brought to their regular position parallel to the body, the apron is tightened overthe chest of the patient.

This embodiment has several advantages. The electrode bracelets apron enablesquick wearing of the apron, particularly in emergency situations, since there is

I no need to bring the straps around the back or the neck. Attaching the braceletsto the arms of the patient and straightening his arms so they are parallel with his

I body, causes the apron to tighten over the patient’s chest and the electrodes tobe placed in the required spots. It is possible to immediately connect theconnector to the testing device and to receive results.

Furthermore, It is possible to connect the electrodes bracelet apron withoutcompletely undressing the patient but by raising the shirt and placing the apronunder the shirt or bra. •t

The bracelets can be made from metal, thus the bracelets are used as left andright arm electrodes positioning them most accurately on the arms.

The present invention is described in detail by figures 1, 2 and 3. Thesedrawings are not intended to limit the scope of the invention and are solely forpurposes of clarification and description.

Figure 1 describes a frontal view of the electrodes apron

Figure 2 describes the conductors intlie said apron. h

Figure 3 describes a frontal view of the electrode bracelets apron.

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Figure 1 describes a frontal view of the electrodes apron. The apron (1) is madefrom flexible material such as rubber with a strap for wearing on the neck (2)and two straps for closing and tightening (3) (4). On these two straps are twobuckles, the tension buckle (5) and the locking buckle (6). Ten electrodes areinlaid within the apron. Two electrodes (7) (8), are located at the upper mostpart of the apron for attachment under each shoulder (the “arm electrodes”) andtwo electrodes (9) (10) are positioned on the two sides of the stomach (the “legelectrodes”). Six electrodes (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16) are positioned in the spacesbetween the ribs. From each electrode curved conductors extend (17), castwithin the flexible material such as rubber and capable of tightening withoutdamaging the conductor and each conductor is connected by a cable (18) to aconnector (19) which is connected to the measuring device.

Figure 2 illustrates the conductor (17a) with its curvature (17b) within an, envelope (17c) cast from flexible material such as rubber. It is possible totighten the conductor, up to a certain 'limit, together with the cased envelope,without over-tightening or causing damage to the conductor.

Figure 3 describes a frontal view of the electrodes bracelets apron, the apron iscomprised of the apron body (1) made from flexible material and capable ofbeing tightened, two bracelets (7) and (8) on the two sides of the apron for theattachment to the arms of the patient. Together with the straightening of thearms of the patient in parallel with his body, the apron is tightened over the chestof the patient. These two bracelets serve, at the same time, also as the right andleft arms electrodes. The additional electrodes are located within the cast apronelectrodes (9) and (10) provide the right leg and left leg electrodes and sixadditional electrodes, (11), (12), (13), (14), (15) and (16) provide the pericardialelectrodes vl to v6 . 11 5 6 74 5

From each electrode emerges a coiled, spiral or zig-zag shaped conductor (17)which is cast within flexible material such that it is capable to tighten theconductor without damage being caused to it. The conductors are connected to aconnector (18). A suitable multi-pronged cable (19) connects the connector toany standard ECG device.

For conducting an ECG examination, the bracelets are attached to the patient’sarms, and the arms are pulled to the side of the body, and thus the apron istightened to the chest and by connecting of the apron to the measuring device, afull 12 leads ECG examination is performed within seconds.

In accordance with this invention, the apron is worn on the body of the patientand tightened by means of the tightening buckles or by bracelets. As a result,there is no need for suction buttons, gel, or shaving hair. The electrodes arelocated at the appropriate positions required for testing and the data receivedfrom those very same locations is in a manner which assists in the quality of theexamination.

The apron is tightened according to need and adapts itself to the body of thepatient and the electrodes are positioned according to the tension in the accurateanatomical places required for examination and the distance between themchanges proportionally according to the size of the patient’s body. The structureof the apron enables medical testing of both males and females and there is noneed for different aprons. j

At the time of tightening, no damage is caused to the conductors because theyare protected by their special structure, as described in the figures. Π 5 6 7 4/? 6

Wealing an apron, according to the present invention, instead of positioning, oneby one, ten electrodes, makes the apron simple to wear and allows it to performa rapid ECG test, which is of substantial importance in times of emergencies.