Surgery – Truss – Pad
Patent
1994-09-20
1997-11-11
Cohen, Lee S.
Surgery
Truss
Pad
A61R 50402
Patent
active
056853033
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a new, practical belt-type apparatus containing therein lead wires for measuring the electrical activity of the heart of a patient when used with an electrocardiograph machine. The belt-like apparatus is attached to a patient. It is useful in place of the conventional individual wires attached to the patient, one at a time, for taking an electrocardiogram.
An electrocardiogram, generally referred to as an ECG or an EKG, is a visual display of the electrical activity of the heart. Electrocardiograms are accepted in the field of medicine, particularly cardiology, to be of great value in the diagnosis and management of patients with heart disease, undergoing surgery, in distress for other medical reasons and undergoing routine physical examinations to establish a baseline record of the heart's electrical activity. In cases where a permanent record is desired, the EKG is usually recorded by an electrocardiograph machine on paper made especially for that purpose.
The most commonly performed electrocardiogram is called a "twelve-lead EKG" although it is made with only 10 separate lead wires attached to electrodes that are attached to the body of the patient. Six of the electrodes are attached to the patient's chest at certain known recording zones over the heart. They and their attached lead wires are referred to as the "precordial" electrodes and leads, respectively. Four other wires and their attached electrodes are commonly referred to as the "limb" electrodes and leads, respectively. Each limb of the patient has a corresponding limb lead with its electrode attached thereto over commonly accepted recording zones. Such electrodes must be applied one at a time and in the particular case of the precordial electrodes must be placed in the proper sequence over the proper recording area for each lead. In addition, the two arm leads must not be reversed in order to avoid obtaining a faulty EKG tracing (this is not critical for the leg leads). Because of the great number of separate leads and their length, problems with conventional devices often arise, e.g., the wire leads frequently get entangled during normal usage resulting in time delays to perform the next EKG and wires are mistakenly placed over the wrong recording area of the body leading to inaccurate readings requiring repeating the test or else untoward errors in patient care and management may result. These events may not only place the patient in potential harm, but also waste the time of the patient, performing technician, and attending physician, thus adding to the cost of medical care.
Conventional precordial EKG electrodes are applied to the body with either suction cups or self-adhesive disposable electrodes. Both devices are prone to falling off, for example, when the patient is large breasted and/or its chest is hairy, sweaty, and/or the test is performed with the patient partly or completely sitting up. Such circumstances generally lead to additional delay in performing the test. In addition, the reusable suction cups may become unsightly or unsanitary through use particularly when employed in a high volume patient setting such as an emergency room.
2. Prior Art
The prior art reveals several alternative devices for recording EKGs. Mills et al. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,121,575 and 4,202,433 teach embedding the precordial electrodes in an elastic strip held down by weights at both ends. However, the entire device is not contoured to accommodate patients with large pectoral muscles or breasts nor can it accommodate those who cannot lie completely flat during the test. The greatest interpersonal variability in the distances between patients' precordial recording zones occurs laterally because of the downward curvature of the chest approaching the left flank. Mills et al. fail to take this variability into account by fixing the positions of V4, V5 and V6 thus limiting the variety of chest sizes with which it may be used. In addition, weights applied at both ends will tend to lift the
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Rollman Bruce L.
Sherman Alan E.
Cohen Lee S.
Rollman Bruce L.
Rosen Gerald S.
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