Disposable electrode assembly

Inventors

McCoy, Daniel E. • Regan, Shawn V. • Webb, William

Assignees

Rhythmlink International LLC

Abstract

An electrode assembly includes a handle, holder, and electrode with an electrical conductor. The electrode is loaded into the holder with its attached conductor. The holder includes a protective cap, a resilient button with a flange, an alignment ring, two plungers each with a spring, and a retention ring. The flange and retention ring both have plural holes in registration and with posts depending from the alignment ring in order to hold the retention ring in place. Inside the button are two plungers, one on top of the other, and each with its own spring resisting downward pressure. Once the cap is removed from the button, the holder is placed against the skin of a patient, and the button is pressed, the top plunger pushes the bottom plunger against the skin of the patient and then the electrode from the protection ring, thereby ejecting the electrode.

Core Innovation

The invention provides a disposable electrode assembly for applying an electrode to the skin of a patient for neurological monitoring. The disposable electrode assembly includes a handle/holder, an electrode carried within a recess, and an electrical conductor attached to the electrode and routed through a channel formed in the holder. The assembly further includes a button carried by the holder so that, when the holder is placed in engagement with the skin and the button is pressed, the holder ejects the electrode from the recess into the skin of the patient.

The invention uses a mechanical ejection arrangement to control the electrode application and ejection sequence. The assembly employs a double-plunger ejection mechanism with two plungers actuated in sequence by two springs having different spring forces. This arrangement moves the electrode into skin contact before ejecting the electrode into the skin, and includes a protective cap over a resilient button to manage how the button is engaged.

To maintain alignment and handling prior to ejection, the assembly includes an alignment ring and retention ring features. The holder aligns and retains the electrode prior to ejection using registered holes and depending posts, and provides a retention ring with a central hole that defines an ejection path. The handle also includes conductor-routing management features, including a channel and friction-based catches, to manage electrical conductor tension and prevent detachment and tangling.

Claims Coverage

The document includes two independent claims that both cover an electrode assembly for applying an electrode to a patient’s skin using a holder with a recess, an electrode, a conductor routed in a channel, and a button that ejects the electrode when pressed in skin engagement. The independent claims share the same core structural elements and differ in their emphasis, with additional features in dependent claims further specifying retention ring and ejection-mechanism details such as coaxial plungers and a retention cover.

Across both independent claims, the coverage centers on an electrode assembly where a holder carries an electrode in a recess, routes an electrical conductor through a channel to the electrode, and ejects the electrode into the patient’s skin when a button is pressed with the holder in skin engagement. Dependent claim refinements in the provided material further constrain retention and ejection mechanics.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications