Fetal spiral electrode sleeve and wire interconnect system

Abstract

A fetal electrode sleeve and wire interconnect system for transmitting signals indicative of fetal heart rate from a fetus inside a mother through a cable to a monitor external to the mother. The system includes a holder having a fetal spiral electrode on one end and a maternal reference electrode on its opposite end. A safety cap has a retention groove, a grip, a tip with a recessed end opposite the grip, and a conductive sleeve. The conductive sleeve has a first end enclosed by the grip, a second end enclosed by the tip, and an intermediate exposed portion enclosed by neither the grip nor the tip. A twisted wire strand including a pair of insulated wires each having a first end and a second end, the first ends of the wires respectively connected to the fetal electrode and the maternal reference electrode, the second end of one wire attached to the first end of the conductive sleeve and the other wire being disposed inside the conductive sleeve, extending beyond the second end of the conductive sleeve, and terminating at its second end as a bare and exposed wire at the recessed end of the tip so that the second end of the wire is protected. A housing receives the safety cap and facilitates electrical connection between the wires and the cable.