Electrode for biomedical measurements

• US 20050020935A1
• Filed: 05/19/2004
• Published: 01/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Timpel Medical B.V.
• Original Assignee: Marcelo B.P. Amato, Stephan Bohm
• Inventors: Suarez Sipmann, Fernando, Kowalewski, Gerd, Helzel, Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 7,136,690 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/547
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0536 Impedance imaging, e.g. by tomography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/25 Bioelectric electrodes therefor

Abstract

The invention relates to an electrode for biomedical measurements, in particular for measurements for electrical impedance tomography, which permits measurements with as little interference as possible. The electrodes comprise a contact plate, a line driver with a high-impedance signal input and low-impedance line output and a current source, with a current output and a reference point, whereby the contact plate is connected to the high-impedance signal input of the line driver and to the current output of the current source and the line driver and the current source are arranged in the vicinity of the contact plate.

Claims

1. Electrode for biomedical measurements, with a contact plate, and with a line driver which has a high-impedance signal input and a low-impedance line output and is arranged in the vicinity of the contact plate, wherein a current source which has a current output and a reference point and is arranged in the vicinity of the contact plate, wherein the contact plate is electrically connected to the high-impedance signal input of the line driver and to the current output of the current source and wherein a measuring circuit voltage can be picked up between the low-impedance line output and the reference point.

2. Electrode according to claim 1, wherein the electrical connections between the contact plate, the current source and the line driver are designed in such a way that a stray capacitance which is as low as possible is produced between the contact plate and reference point.

3. Electrode according to claim 1, wherein the line driver and the current source are located as integrated circuit on the contact plate.

4. Electrode according to claim 1, wherein the contact plate with the line driver and the current source are integrated in a shielded housing.

5. Electrode according to claim 1, wherein a circuit is provided for active compensation of the stray capacitance between the contact plate and reference point.

6. Electrode according to claim 1, wherein the current source is a bipolar current source with high internal resistance, the output current of which is virtually proportional to the input voltage.

7. Electrode according to claim 1, wherein the current source supplies an alternating current with frequencies in the range from 1 kHz to 1 MHz and amplitudes in the range from 1 μ

A to 10 mA.

8. Electrode according to claim 7, wherein the alternating current is frequency-modulated and/or amplitude-modulated.

9. Electrode according to claim 1, wherein the line driver consists of an impedance converter circuit.

10. Electrode according to claim 9, wherein a voltage measuring apparatus is connected between the low-impedance line output and the reference point.

11. Electrode according to claim 1, wherein a switch, via which the contact plate can be optionally switched to the potential of the reference point, is provided between the contact plate and reference point.

12. Electrode belt for carrying out a measurement by electrical impedance tomography with a plurality of electrodes, each electrode comprises a contact plate and a line driver which has a high-impedance signal input and a low-impedance line output and is arranged in the vicinity of the contact plate, wherein a current source which has a current output and a reference point and is arranged in the vicinity of the contact plate, wherein the contact plate is electrically connected to the high-impedance signal input of the line driver and to the current output of the current source and wherein a measuring circuit voltage can be picked up between the low-impedance line output and the reference point.

13. Electrode belt according to claim 12, wherein the electrodes are provided with virtually equal spacing from one another.

14. Electrode belt according to claim 12, wherein data acquisition units with at least one analogue-to-digital converter are provided which from one or more electrodes read in the voltage between the respective contact plate and the reference point via the analogue-to-digital converter and pass it to a central processor via a data line.