SKIN PREPARATION DEVICE AND BIOPOTENTIAL SENSOR
First Claim
1. A skin preparation device comprising:
- a base member in the shape of a ring;
an array of rigid tines contiguous with the base member, each tine having a sharp tip adapted to penetrate the stratum corneum.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The skin preparation device and sensor of the present invention include an array of rigid tines. The tines serve to “self-prepare” the skin at each electrode site. These tines, when pressed against the skin, penetrate the stratum corneum, thereby reducing skin impedance and improving signal quality. A self-prepping device of the present invention is an optimized array of short non-conductive rigid tines in which the individual tines are created in a geometry that allows for a sharp point at the tip when molding, machining or etching is used as a method of fabrication. This non-conductive array with rigid penetrating structures may, therefore, be used in combination with a conductive medium, preferably an ionic conductive gel. In penetrating the stratum corneum, micro-conduits are created in the layers of the skin enabling the conductive medium to reach the low impedance layers and to transmit bioelectrical signals from the skin to the electrode surface. Such a self-prepping device can be readily mass produced using molding methods or possibly other manufacturing methods, thereby providing for a low cost means of achieving improved performance of the biopotential sensor. Additionally this invention includes the integration of this self-prepping device into a biopotential sensor comprising an array of one or more electrodes.
70 Citations
28 Claims
-
1. A skin preparation device comprising:
-
a base member in the shape of a ring; an array of rigid tines contiguous with the base member, each tine having a sharp tip adapted to penetrate the stratum corneum. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
-
-
7. A skin preparation device comprising:
-
a base member; an array of rigid tines contiguous with the base member, each tine having a sharp tip adapted to penetrate the stratum corneum; and wherein the base member is formed of multiple stepped levels each level containing a portion of the array of rigid tines. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A skin preparation device comprising:
-
a base member; an array of tines contiguous with the base member, each tine having a pyramidal shape wherein one side of the pyramid is concave. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
-
-
23. A sensor system comprising:
-
a flexible substrate; a plurality of electrodes coupled to the flexible substrate; an adhesive substrate adjacent to each of the electrodes and the flexible substrate; and a preparation device comprising; a base member in the shape of a ring; an array of rigid tines contiguous with the base member, each tine having a sharp tip adapted to penetrate the stratum corneum. - View Dependent Claims (24)
-
-
25. A sensor system comprising:
-
a flexible substrate; a plurality of electrodes coupled to the flexible substrate; an adhesive substrate adjacent to each of the electrodes and the flexible substrate; and a preparation device comprising; a base member; an array of rigid tines contiguous with the base member, each tine having a sharp tip adapted to penetrate the stratum corneum; and wherein the base member is formed of multiple stepped levels each level containing a portion of the array of rigid tines. - View Dependent Claims (26)
-
-
27. A sensor system comprising:
-
a flexible substrate; a plurality of electrodes coupled to the flexible substrate; an adhesive substrate adjacent to each of the electrodes and the flexible substrate; and a preparation device comprising; a base member; an array of tines contiguous with the base member, each tine having a pyramidal shape wherein one side of the pyramid is concave. - View Dependent Claims (28)
-
Specification