Motion artifact rejection microelectrode

• US 8,229,537 B2
• Filed: 03/17/2010
• Issued: 07/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Chandrasekaran, Shankar, Virtanen, Juha, Goravar, Shivappa
• Primary Examiner(s): Cohen, Lee S
• Application Number:
  US12/725,865
• Publication Number:
  US 20110230745A1
• Time in Patent Office: 860 Days
• Field of Search: 600/372, 600/373, 600/383, 600/396, 600/544, 600/595
• US Class Current: 600/372
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0219 Inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt switches
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/028 Microscale sensors, e.g. electromechanical sensors [MEMS]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/125 characterised by the manufacture of electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/25 Bioelectric electrodes therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/30 Input circuits therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/685 Microneedles
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/721 using a separate sensor to detect motion or using motion information derived from signals other than the physiological signal to be measured

Abstract

An electrode system for the measurement of biopotential signals includes a substrate. A microelectrode is coupled to the substrate. An accelerometer is coupled to the substrate. A biopotential amplifier is electrically coupled to the microelectrode and acceleration measurement circuit is electrically coupled to the accelerometer. A method of measuring a biopotential from a patient includes sensing a biopotential with a microelectrode. The biopotential is amplified with an amplifier in electrical communication with the microelectrode. A movement of the electrode is sensed with an accelerometer integrated with the electrode substrate. The sensed biopotential and the sensed movement are provided to an electronic controller. Portions of the sensed biopotential that correspond to sensed movement are identified as artifact contaminated portions.

Claims

1. An electrode system for the measurement of biopotential signals, the system comprising:

a substrate;

a microelectrode electrically connected to the substrate, the microelectrode comprising a plurality of conductive spikes;

an accelerometer integrally formed into the substrate;

a conductive lead connected to the substrate, the conductive lead carrying a combined signal including a biopotential from the microelectrode and an acceleration signal from the accelerometer;

a biopotential amplifier electrically connected to the conductive lead; and

an acceleration measurement circuit electrically connected to the conductive lead.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising an electronics electrically connected to the lead, the electronics possess processes the biopotential signal obtained by the microelectrode and the acceleration signal obtained by the accelerometer to improve the quality of the biopotential signals.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the electronics use the acceleration signal to identify a motion artifact contaminated portion of the biopotential signal.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of conductive spikes comprise silver or a silver/silver chloride coating.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the accelerometer is a first accelerometer and further comprising a second accelerometer, both the first and second accelerometers being mechanically integrated with the substrate, the first accelerometer and the second accelerometer being oriented in the substrate to measure acceleration in at least two orthogonal directions.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the electrode system measures electroencephalographic (EEG) biopotentials.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the biopotential amplifier and the acceleration measurement circuit are integrated with the substrate.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the acceleration measurement circuit comprises an acceleration detector front end and a back-end circuitry.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the acceleration detector front end is integrated with the substrate and a power supply is the back-end circuitry and mechanically separated from the acceleration detector front end.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the acceleration detector front-end and back-end circuitry communicate across at least one lead wire the at least one lead wire also used for the biopotential measurement.

11. An electrode system for the measurement of biopotential signals, the system comprising:

a conductive substrate;

a microelectrode physically and electrically connected to the conductive substrate, the microelectrode comprising a plurality of conductive spikes;

an accelerometer integrally formed into the conductive substrate;

an acceleration measurement circuit electrically connected by a first lead to the accelerometer, the acceleration measurement circuit provides a high frequency supply voltage to the accelerometer;

a second lead connected between the conductive substrate and the acceleration measurement circuit, the second lead carrying a combined signal including a biopotential from the microelectrode and an acceleration signal from the accelerometer; and

a biopotential amplifier electrically connected to the second lead.

12. The electrode system of claim 11, wherein the biopotential amplifier exhibits a high impedance to high frequency signals and the acceleration measurement circuit exhibits a high impedance to low frequency signals.

13. The electrode system of claim 12, wherein the acceleration signal from the accelerometer is the high frequency supply voltage, electrically modified by the accelerometer when motion is detected by the accelerometer.