Cartridge for storing an electrode pad and methods for using and making the cartridge

• US 20020082644A1
• Filed: 05/09/2001
• Published: 06/27/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Agilent Technologies Europe BV (Agilent Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Agilent Technologies Europe BV (Agilent Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Mydynski, Steven T., Solosko, Thomas, Leyde, Kent W., Morgan, Carlton B., Picardo, Anthony G., MacDuff, Ian G., Janae, Christine, Bishay, Jon M.
• Granted Patent: US 6,662,056 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 607/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/046 Specially adapted for shock therapy, e.g. defibrillation
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0472 Structure-related aspects
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/048 Electrodes characterised by a specific connection between lead and electrode
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0492 Patch electrodes A61N1/0412, A61N1/0428 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3904 External heart defibrillators [EHD]
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2001/37294 Means for testing medical devices within the package prior to implantation

Abstract

A cartridge is provided for storing one or more electrode pads such as a defibrillator electrode pad. The cartridge includes a housing having a rigid portion, a storage space disposed within the housing, and a storage-space opening that allows one to remove/insert the electrode pad or pads from/into the storage space. Because it has a housing with a rigid portion, such a cartridge can better protect one or more electrode pads from handling damage. Furthermore, one can construct the cartridge such that it is attachable to a medical device such as an AED. This allows an operator to carry or store the medical device, cartridge, and one or more electrode pads as a single unit. In addition, one can construct the cartridge such that the one or more electrode pads can be pre-connected to the medical device. This can eliminate connecting the one or more electrode pads to the medical device during an emergency.

Claims

1. A cartridge for storing an electrode pad, the cartridge comprising:

a housing having a rigid portion;

a storage space disposed within the housing; and

a storage-space opening operable to allow removal of the electrode pad from the storage space and insertion of the electrode pad into the storage space.

2. The cartridge of claim 1 wherein the rigid portion comprises plastic.

3. The cartridge of claim 1 wherein the rigid portion comprises rubber.

4. The cartridge of claim 1 wherein the rigid portion comprises metal.

5. The cartridge of claim 1 wherein the rigid portion comprises ceramic.

6. The cartridge of claim 1 wherein the housing comprises:

a rigid tray having edges; and

rigid side walls attached to the edges of the tray.

7. The cartridge of claim 1 comprising a lid operable to cover the storage-space opening.

8. The cartridge of claim 1 comprising a sheet of film operable to cover the storage-space opening.

9. The cartridge of claim 1 comprising a lid and a sheet of film operable to cover the storage-space opening.

10. The cartridge of claim 1 comprising a removable lid operable to cover the storage-space opening.

11. The cartridge of claim 1 wherein:

the housing comprises,

a rigid tray having edges, and

rigid side walls having first edges respectively attached to the edges of the tray and having second edges respectively opposite the first edges, the tray and side walls defining the storage space, the second edges of the side walls defining the storage-space opening; and

wherein the cartridge further comprises,

a rigid lid, and

a hinge coupled to the lid and to the second edge of one of the side walls.

12. The cartridge of claim 1, further comprising an electrode-pad connector that extends through the housing, that has a first end disposed outside of the housing and operable to connect to a medical device, and that has a second end disposed within the storage space and operable to connect to the electrode pad.

13. The cartridge of claim 1, further comprising:

a lid operable to cover the storage-space opening; and

a sensor coupled to the housing and operable to indicate whether the lid is in an opened or closed position.

14. The cartridge of claim 1, further comprising:

a cover operable to cover the storage-space opening; and

a sensor coupled to the housing and operable to indicate whether the cover is in an opened position.

15. The cartridge of claim 1 wherein the housing is attachable to a medical device.

16. The cartridge of claim 1 wherein the housing is attachable to a defibrillator.

18. The cartridge of claim 17 wherein the information provider comprises a protrusion.

19. The cartridge of claim 17 wherein the information provider comprises an optical information provider.

20. The cartridge of claim 17 wherein the information provider is operable to identify a type of electrode pad that the storage space is operable to store.

21. The cartridge of claim 17 wherein the information provider is disposed on the exterior of the housing.

17. A cartridge for storing an electrode pad, the cartridge comprising:

a housing having an interior and an exterior;

a storage space disposed within the interior of the housing;

a storage-space opening operable to allow removal of the electrode pad from the storage space and insertion of the electrode pad into the storage space; and

an information provider disposed on the housing.

22. A cartridge system, comprising:

a cartridge having a rigid portion, a cartridge interior, and a cartridge opening;

an electrode pad disposed in the interior and operable to be removed from the cartridge via the cartridge opening; and

a moisture barrier attached to the cartridge and sealing the cartridge opening.

23. The cartridge system of claim 22 wherein:

the cartridge comprises a housing and a lid attached to the housing; and

the moisture barrier is attached to the lid and to the housing and is operable to detach from the housing when the lid is moved from a closed position toward an opened position.

24. The cartridge system of claim 22 wherein the cartridge comprises a housing and a lid that is slidably attachable to the housing.

25. The cartridge system of claim 22 wherein the moisture barrier is hermetically sealed to the cartridge.

26. The cartridge system of claim 22 wherein the electrode pad comprises a defibrillator electrode pad.

27. The cartridge system of claim 22 wherein the electrode pad comprises a monitor electrode pad.

28. The cartridge system of claim 22, further comprising a plurality of electrode pads disposed in the interior and operable to be removed from the cartridge via the cartridge opening.

30. The cartridge system of claim 29 wherein the first rigid portion of the cartridge comprises a lid.

31. The cartridge system of claim 29 wherein:

the cartridge has an interior; and

the first electrode pad is disposed within the interior.

32. The cartridge system of claim 29 wherein:

the cartridge comprises a second rigid portion; and

the cartridge system further comprises,

a second electrode pad attached to the second rigid portion, and

a second moisture barrier that seals the second electrode pad against the second rigid portion.

29. A cartridge system, comprising:

a cartridge having a first rigid portion;

a first electrode pad attached to the first rigid portion; and

a first moisture barrier that seals the first electrode pad against the first rigid portion.

33. A cartridge system, comprising:

a cartridge having a rigid portion, a cartridge interior, and a cartridge opening;

an electrode pad disposable in the interior and operable to be removed from the cartridge via the cartridge opening; and

a moisture barrier that seals the electrode pad.

34. The cartridge system of claim 33 wherein the moisture barrier is attached to the cartridge.

36. The cartridge system of claim 35, further comprising an electrode-pad wire having a first end coupled to the electrode pad and having a second end coupled to the first end of the connector.

37. The cartridge system of claim 35, further comprising:

an electrode-pad wire having a first end coupled to the electrode pad and having a second end;

an electrode-pad connector having a first end coupled to the second end of the electrode-pad wire and having a second end that is operable to be coupled to the first end of the cartridge connector.

39. The defibrillator system of claim 38 wherein the defibrillator comprises an automatic or semiautomatic external defibrillator.

40. The defibrillator system of claim 38 wherein the defibrillator includes a receptacle operable to receive the cartridge.

41. The defibrillator system of claim 38 wherein the cartridge comprises:

a rigid tray; and

rigid side walls attached to the tray.

42. The defibrillator system of claim 38 wherein the cartridge comprises:

a rigid tray;

rigid side walls attached to the tray; and

a lid attached to the side walls opposite to the tray.

43. The defibrillator system of claim 38 wherein:

the defibrillator comprises a first defibrillator-electrode-pad connector; and

the cartridge comprises a second defibrillator-electrode-pad connector that is operable to mate with the first defibrillator-electrode-pad connector.

44. The defibrillator system of claim 38 wherein the cartridge includes an opening operable to allow a defibrillator-electrode-pad wire to extend from inside the cartridge to the defibrillator.

45. The defibrillator system of claim 38 wherein the defibrillator is operable to detect whether the cartridge is attached or unattached to the defibrillator.

46. The defibrillator system of claim 38 wherein the defibrillator is operable to detect whether the cartridge is open or closed.

47. The defibrillator system of claim 38 wherein:

the cartridge has a lid; and

the defibrillator is operable to detect whether the lid is in an opened or in a closed position.

48. The defibrillator system of claim 38, further comprising a defibrillator electrode pad that is storable within the cartridge.

49. The defibrillator system of claim 38, further comprising:

a defibrillator electrode pad that is storable within the cartridge and having predetermined characteristics;

wherein the cartridge includes an information provider; and

wherein the defibrillator is operable to determine the characteristics of the defibrillator electrode pad from the information provider.

35. A cartridge system, comprising:

a cartridge having an interior and having a cartridge connector with a first end disposed in the interior and a second end disposed external to the cartridge; and

an electrode pad disposable in the interior and operable to be coupled to the first end of the connector.

38. A defibrillator system, comprising:

a defibrillator; and

a cartridge attachable to the defibrillator and operable to store a defibrillator electrode pad, the cartridge having a rigid portion.

50. A method, comprising:

detaching a first cartridge from a medical device, the cartridge having a rigid portion and operable to store a first electrode pad; and

attaching a second cartridge to the medical device after removing the first cartridge, the second cartridge having a rigid portion and operable to store a second electrode pad.

51. The method of claim 50 wherein:

the detaching comprises removing the first cartridge from a cartridge receptacle of the medical device; and

the attaching comprises installing the second cartridge in the receptacle.

52. The method of claim 50 wherein:

the detaching comprises uncoupling an electrode-pad connector of the first cartridge from an electrode-pad connector of the medical device; and

the attaching comprises coupling an electrode-pad connector of the second cartridge to the electrode-pad connector of the medical device.

53. The method of claim 50, further comprising instructing an operator to attach the second cartridge to the medical device after the detaching of the first cartridge.

54. The method of claim 50, further comprising the following steps before detaching the first cartridge from the medical device:

removing an electrode pad from the first cartridge; and

attaching the electrode pad to a patient.

55. The method of claim 50, further comprising the following steps after attaching the second cartridge to the medical device:

removing an electrode pad from the second cartridge; and

attaching the electrode pad to a patient.

56. The method of claim 50 wherein:

the medical device comprises a defibrillator; and

the first and second electrode pads respectively comprise first and second defibrillator electrode pads.

58. The method of claim 57 wherein generating the indicator signal comprises notifying a user to replace the cartridge until the cartridge is removed and replaced.

59. The method of claim 57, further comprising disabling a testing capability of the medical device if the cartridge is open.

61. The method of claim 57, further comprising disabling a testing capability of the medical device if the cartridge is not attached to the medical device.

57. A method, comprising:

sensing whether an electrode-pad-storage cartridge attached to a medical device is open; and

generating an indicator signal if the cartridge is open.

60. A method, comprising:

sensing whether an electrode-pad-storage cartridge is attached to a medical device; and

generating an indicator signal if the cartridge is attached to the medical device.

62. A method, comprising:

testing an electrode pad that is disposed in a cartridge attached to a medical device;

sensing whether the cartridge is open; and

halting the testing if the cartridge is open.

63. The method of claim 62, further comprising resuming the testing when the cartridge is closed.

64. The method of claim 62 wherein:

the electrode pad comprises a defibrillator electrode pad; and

the medical device comprises a defibrillator.

65. A method, comprising:

testing the electrical properties of a pair of electrode pads connected to and disposed within a cartridge that is connected to a medical device; and

determining whether the pads are suitable for use based on the results of the testing.

66. The method of claim 65, further comprising:

sensing whether the cartridge is open; and

halting the testing if the cartridge is open.

67. The method of claim 65, further comprising:

wherein the electrode pads comprise defibrillator electrode pads; and

wherein the medical device comprises a defibrillator.

68. The method of claim 65, further comprising:

sensing whether the cartridge is open;

halting the testing if the cartridge is open; and

resuming the testing when the cartridge is closed.

69. The method of claim 65, further comprising:

sensing whether the cartridge is open;

halting the testing if the cartridge is open; and

alerting a user to replace the cartridge if the cartridge is open.

70. A method, comprising:

forming an electrode-pad cartridge having a rigid portion; and

forming a an electrode-pad-medical-device coupler in the cartridge.

71. The method of claim 70 wherein forming the cartridge and the coupler comprise injecting a material into a mold.

72. The method of claim 70 wherein:

forming the cartridge comprises using an injection-molding process; and

forming the coupler comprises inserting a connector into a mold before injecting cartridge-forming material into the mold.

73. The method of claim 70 wherein forming the cartridge comprises using a thermoforming process.

74. The method of claim 70 wherein forming the coupler comprises installing or bonding a connector in the cartridge.

75. The method of claim 70 wherein forming the coupler comprises forming an opening in the cartridge.

76. The method of claim 70, further comprising storing an electrode pad in the formed cartridge.

77. The method of claim 70, further comprising:

storing an electrode pad in the formed cartridge; and

connecting the electrode pad to the coupler.

78. The method of claim 70, further comprising sealing an electrode pad in the formed cartridge.

79. The method of claim 70 wherein forming the cartridge comprises:

forming a rigid tray; and

forming rigid side walls attached to the tray.

80. The method of claim 70 wherein forming the cartridge comprises:

forming a rigid tray;

forming rigid side walls attached to the tray; and

forming a rigid lid attached to the side walls.

81. The method of claim 70 wherein forming the cartridge comprises:

forming a rigid tray;

forming rigid side walls attached to the tray;

forming a rigid lid; and

hinging the lid to one of the side walls.

83. The method of claim 70 wherein storing the electrode pad comprises sealing the electrode pad in the cartridge.

82. A method, comprising:

forming an electrode-pad cartridge having a rigid portion; and

storing an electrode pad in the cartridge.

84. A method, comprising:

attaching a connector of a cartridge to a medical device, the cartridge operable to store an electrode pad, attached connector coupling the electrode pad to the medical device; and

using the medical device a significant time after attaching the connector to the medical device.

85. The method of claim 84 wherein:

the medical device comprises a defibrillator; and

using the medical device comprises using the defibrillator to monitor, pace, cardiovert, or shock a patient.