Self galvanic massage apparatus.

Application filed January 7,1905. Serial No, 240,017.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Sven Rudolf Ernst Schmidt, a subject of the King of Sweden and Norway, and a resident of St. George, Staten 5 Island, New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Self Galvanic Massage Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

' My invention relates to means for use in io massage treatment for combining galvanic currents with hand manipulation in more efficient action than hand manipulation alone can effect.

The essential feature of the apparatus com15 prises a roller mounted in a suitable handle and fluted or grooved lengthwise on the face and armed with independent galvanic pairs of wires in the grooves coupled alternately on the heads of the roller to generate currents 20 passing from one wire to another across the ribs, so as to take effect on the skin of the subject as the roller is pressed on and rolled along the same by the operator, as hereinafter described, reference being made to the ac25 companying drawings, in which—

Figure 1 is a plan view of the instrument. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same. Fig. 3 is a section of the roller on line 2 2 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a diagram of the wire system laid out flat.

A represents a roller, of wood or other approved material, journaled by screws 1) in the forks c of a suitable handle ¢/, so that the roller can be pressed on and rolled along the parts to be treated, said roller being fluted, 35 as indicated by the points a and corresponding notches in Fig. 2. On each end of said roller is a metallic disk, one of which is marked d' and the other ¢/, secured by tacks <?, and on each disk d is an insulating-disk /, 4° and these disks are covered by a metallic cap f' to each, all notched in the edges, as at g, all the said disks being centrally perforated for the pivot-screws 1).

The face of the roller is fluted or grooved lengthwise, as at /, and is covered with felt 45 i or other suitable absorbent material pressed into the flutes or grooves and conformed to the shape thereof. In every alternate groove ,/ is a copper wire k, and in the intermediate grooves is a zinc wire I. The copper wires 5° are connected at one end to the disk d' and at the other end to the roller-block A, being secured to the latter by some of the tacks ¢, and the zinc wires I are at one end similarly connected to disk d' and in like manner se- 55 cured at their other ends to the roller-block A by some of the tacks e.

The absorbent cover / being saturated with salt water or other solution adapted to generate galvanic action, alternating electric cur- όο rents are generated in the several galvanic pairs, which flow from one to the other of said pairs through the disks d' d\ respectively, and return through the skin of the patient from one wire to the other when the 65 implement is placed thereon and vigorously pressed and rolled, thus effecting beneficial application of electric currents in combination with the massage treatment.