The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 27, 1991
Filed:
Apr. 06, 1990
John N Dukes, Los Altos Hills, CA (US);
Hewlett-Packard Company, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Abstract
An Intelligent Electrocardiogram System that solves the problem of faulty electrical connections between a patient and an ECG instrument is disclosed. The electrode employed by the invention comprises a disposable insulative pad and a snap connector that includes an LED anchored in the top central portion of the snap connector. Wires from the LED run into a lead that extend to an ECG instrument. An adhesive attached to the pad enables the electrode to be secured on the skin of a patient. The electrode includes a metal post embedded in the center of pad. The post protrudes up from the insulative pad through the connector side, which is the side opposite the side that touches the patient's skin. A spring contact surrounds the post and provides an electrical coupling to one of the wires inside the lead. The bottom portion of the post extends through and past a lower central surface of the pad that is capable of holding a volume of conductive jelly. A sensor circuit connected to the spring clip includes a current source, a comparator, and a current limiting resistor. A reference voltage Vr is applied to the comparator's negative input, while the positive is linked to the spring contact. The output of the comparator flows through a resistor that is coupled to the LED. When a change in the impedance between the conductive portion of the electrode and the patient is detected, the sensor circuit activates the LED on the faulty electrode.