Electrode for measuring biomedical signal and electrode support device for measuring a biomedical signal

• US 6,201,981 B1
• Filed: 06/04/1998
• Issued: 03/13/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nihon Kohden Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nihon Kohden Corporation
• Inventors: Yarita, Masaru
• Primary Examiner(s): Dvorak, Linda C. M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ruddy, David M.
• Application Number:
  US09/090,409
• Time in Patent Office: 1,013 Days
• Field of Search: 600/377, 600/382, 600/372, 600/388, 600/389, 600/393, 600/395, 600/409, 600/411, 607/152, 128/901
• US Class Current: 600/372
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/055 involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/282 Holders for multiple electrodes for introduction into the body A61B5/287
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/291 for electroencephalography [EEG]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/901 Suppression of noise in electric signal

Abstract

An electrode for measuring a biomedical signal has: thin foil electrodes 11a to 11c which are formed into a square shape; lead wires 12a to 12c which are connected to the electrodes 11a to 11c, respectively; and a support section 13 which is made of a flexible material such as rubber or plastic, formed into a slender thin plate-like shape, and supports the electrodes 11a to 11c in a straight line and at constant intervals. The lead wires 12a to 12c are twisted.

Claims

1. An electrode for measuring a biomedical signal comprising:

a plurality of electrodes for taking out a biomedical signal;

lead wires respectively connected to said electrodes; and

a support member for supporting and insulating said plurality of electrodes therein, said support member made of a flexible and insulative material, wherein a portion of said lead wires disposed in said support member is tightly twisted and disposed in a straight line for suppressing noise from being generated therein.

5. The electrode for measuring a biomedical signal according to claim 1, wherein said twisted lead wires are drawn from the vicinity of a center portion of said electrode.

7. The electrode support device for measuring a biomedical signal according to claim 5, further comprising:

an accommodating portion formed in said support device accommodating a sensor, said sensor generating a current corresponding to the number of crossing magnetic fluxes when said sensor is placed in magnetic field.

2. An electrode for measuring a biomedical signal comprising:

a plurality of electrodes for taking out a biomedical signals

lead wires respectively connected to said electrodes;

a support member for supporting and insulate said plurality of electrodes and said lead wires, said support member made of a flexible and insulative material, said lead wires tightly twisted in said support member and said twisted lead wires disposed in a straight line; and

a sensor supported by said support member, said sensor generating a current corresponding to the number of crossing magnetic fluxes when said sensor is placed in a magnetic field.

3. The electrode for measuring a biomedical signal according to claim 2, wherein said sensor is defined by disposing a conductive wire in said support member in a shape of a loop.

4. The electrode for measuring a biomedical signal according to claim 3, wherein said sensor is defined by disposing a conductive wire so as to surround at least one of the plurality of electrodes in a shape of a loop.

6. An electrode support device for measuring a biomedical signal comprising:

a plurality of housing portions, made of flexible and insulative material, for accommodating a plurality of electrodes for taking out a biomedical signal; and

a groove formed in said support device through which all lead wires respectively connected to said plurality of electrodes are drawn out in a single straight line to an outside, said groove formed for accommodating said lead wires from a point where said lead wires exit from said plurality of housing portions to said outside, such that open space is minimized between lead wires respectively connected to said plurality of electrodes.

8. An apparatus for measuring a biomedical signal comprising:

a plurality of electrodes for taking out a biomedical signal;

a plurality of lead wires connecting the electrodes, respectively;

a support member for supporting and insulating said electrodes and said lead wires, said support member made of a flexible and insulative material, said plurality of lead wires grouped together such that they exit said support member in a single line for minimizing open space between said plurality of lead wires;

a sensor disposed in said support member for generating a current corresponding to the number of crossing magnetic fluxes sensor when said sensor is placed in a magnetic field, said sensor outputting a signal indicative of said magnetic fluxes;

a comparator electrically connected to said sensor and said plurality of lead wires, said comparator calculating a difference between outputs of said electrodes and said sensor, said comparator outputting a compared signal;

a noise detector electrically connected to said comparator for detecting noises due to the magnetic fluxes based on said compared signal output from said comparator, said noise detector outputting a detected noise signal; and

an attenuator electrically connected to said sensor, to said comparator, and to said noise detector, said attenuator adjusting the output of said sensor so as to minimize the output of said noise detector, therein said attenuator is adjusted according to the output of said noise detector.

9. The apparatus for measuring a biomedical signal according to claim 8, wherein said sensor is defined by disposing a conductive wire in said support in a shape of a loop.

10. The apparatus for measuring a biomedical signal according to claim 9, wherein said sensor is defined by disposing a conductive wire so as to surround at least one of the plurality of electrodes in a shape of a loop.

11. An electrode for measuring a biomedical signal comprising:

a plurality of electrodes for taking out a biomedical signal;

lead wires respectively connected to said electrodes; and

a plate-like shaped support member for supporting and insulating said plurality of electrodes and said lead wires, said support member having a width and a thickness perpendicular to said width, and made of a flexible and insulative material, wherein said plurality of electrodes is disposed so as to avoid overlapping one another and wherein said lead wires are stacked so as to overlap one another in a thickness direction of the electrode in a contactless manner.