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Claims  |
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What is claimed is:
1. A device suitable for use under emergency conditions for acquiring the
electrical activity of the heart of a user in a form suitable for
transmission over a telephonic line comprising
a portable housing,
a pair of electrodes operable when positioned in operative contacting
relation with the skin of a user to acquire the electrical activity of the
heart of the user,
a pair of elongated electrical wires connected with said electrodes and
with said housing for transmitting the electrical activity of the heart of
the user acquired by said electrodes to said housing,
sonic speaker means carried by said housing for creating signals indicative
of the electrical activity acquired by the electrodes in a form suitable
for transmission over a telephonic line,
electric circuit means within said housing for transmitting the electrical
activity acquired by said electrodes and transmitted by said pair of
electrical wires to said sonic speaker means so as to create therein
signals indicative of the electrical activity acquired by said electrodes
for transmission over a telephonic line,
means for removably mounting said electrodes on the exterior of said
housing in outwardly facing spaced relation with respect to one another in
operative positions fixed with respect to said housing so that said
electrodes can be moved with the housing and retained in skin contacting
relation with the chest of a user through manual engagement of said
housing in housing retained positions with respect to the chest of the
user so as to acquire precordial electrical activity of the heart of the
user,
said electrical wires being mounted on said housing so as to be operable to
(1) transmit the precordial electrical activity acquired by said
electrodes when in said housing retained positions, (2) enable said
electrodes to be manually removed from said operative positions fixed with
respect to said housing and extended from said housing into skin
contacting relation with the user in directly retained operative positions
spaced apart substantially greater than the spacing when in said housing
retained positions so as to acquire non-precordial electrical activity of
the heart of the user, and (3) transmit the non-precordial electrical
activity acquired by said electrodes when in said directly retained
operative positions.
2. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said electrodes are configured to
be placed within the armpits of a user and to be comfortably directly
retained within the armpits by the user so that the non-precordial heart
activity of the heart of the user acquired by said electrodes is between
the armpits.
3. A device as defined in claim 2 wherein said electrodes are formed of
plastic material impregnated with particles of a conductive material.
4. A device as defined in claim 3 wherein the particles of conductive
material are carbon particles.
5. A device as defined in claim 4 wherein each of said electrodes is a
relatively flat body having opposed planar surfaces defined peripherally
by a peripheral edge, said peripheral edge including an edge surface
facing toward one of said planar surfaces,
said electrode mounting means including exterior surface means on said
housing for releasably gripping the peripheral edge of each electrode so
as to removably mount said electrodes in said fixed operative positions,
the edge surfaces of said electrodes facing toward said housing when said
electrodes are in said first operative positions,
said housing having surface means enabling a user to digitally engage the
edge surfaces of said electrodes when in said fixed operative positions to
facilitate manual removal of the electrodes from said fixed operative
positions.
6. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said housing includes a
peripheral groove in the exterior thereof within which said electrical
wires are wrapped when said electrodes are in said fixed operative
positions.
7. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said electrodes is a
relatively flat body having opposed planar surfaces defined peripherally
by a peripheral edge, said peripheral edge including an edge surface
facing toward one of said planar surfaces,
said electrode mounting means including exterior surface means on said
housing for releasably gripping the peripheral edge of each electrode so
as to removably mount said electrodes in said fixed operative positions,
the edge surfaces of said electrodes facing toward said housing when said
electrodes are in said fixed operative positions,
said housing having surface means enabling a user to digitally engage the
edge surfaces of said electrodes when in said fixed operative positions to
facilitate manual removal of the electrodes from said fixed operative
positions.
8. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said housing includes a
peripheral groove in the exterior thereof within which said electrical
wires are wrapped when said electrodes are in said fixed operative
positions.
9. A device suitable for use under emergency conditions for acquiring the
electrical activity of the heart of a user in a form suitable for
transmission over a telephonic line comprising
a portable housing,
a pair of electrodes operable when positioned in operative contacting
relation with the skin of a user to acquire the electrical activity of the
heart of the user,
means including at least one elongated electrical wire connected with one
of said electrodes and with said housing for transmitting the electrical
activity acquired by said electrodes to said housing,
sonic speaker means carried by said housing for creating signals indicative
of the electrical activity acquired by the electrodes in a form suitable
for transmission over a telephonic line,
electric circuit means within said housing for transmitting the electrical
activity acquired by said electrodes and transmitted by said pair of
electrical wires to said sonic speaker means so as to create therein
signals indicative of the electrical activity acquired by said electrodes
for transmission over a telephonic line,
means for removably mounting said electrodes on the exterior of said
housing in outwardly facing spaced relation with respect to one another in
operative positions fixed with respect to said housing so that said
electrodes can be moved with the housing and retained in skin contacting
relation with the chest of a user through manual engagement of said
housing in housing retained positions with respect to the chest of the
user so as to acquire precordial electrical activity of the heart of the
user,
said electrical wire being mounted on said housing so as to be operable to
(1) transmit the precordial electrical activity acquired by said
electrodes when in said housing retained positions, (2) enable said one
electrode to be manually removed from its operative position fixed with
respect to said housing and extended from said housing into skin
contacting relation with the user in a directly retained operative
position spaced apart from the other electrode when retained in another
operative position a distance substantially greater than the spacing
distance when said electrodes are in said housing retained positions so as
to acquire non-precordial electrical activity of the heart of the user,
and (3) transmit the non-precordial electrical activity acquired by said
electrodes when one electrode is in said directly retained operative
position and the other electrode is in said another operative position. |
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Claims |
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Description |
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This invention relates to heart monitors and, more particularly, to heart
monitors of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,938,507.
The monitor disclosed in the aforesaid patent is provided with a pair of
electrodes which are configured so as to be conveniently and comfortably
held within the armpits of a user in accordance with the teachings of U.S.
Pat. No. 3,792,700. A preferred use of the device is in the method
disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,910,260, 4,004,577, and 4,658,830. As
disclosed in the aforesaid patents, the heart monitor may be used in
conjunction with medicaments contained with autoinjectors for enabling a
designated coronary prone individual to self administer arrythmia and
thrombolytic treatment drugs during the early minutes or hours of the
onset of heart attack symptoms at a time before the individual can be
hospitalized or reached by an ambulance crew.
For this use, it is important that the monitor be capable of simple, but
effective, connection with the user so as to acquire the electrical
activity of the heart of the user in a form capable of transmission over a
telephone line to a central source where sufficient intelligence is
provided for aiding the individual in undertaking the self administered
treatment.
As indicated, it is important in the operation of a heart monitor of the
type which is useful in such emergency situations that the electrodes be
capable of simple and convenient connection with the user so as to
reliably acquire the electrical activity of the user's heart for
transmitting over the telephone line. The utilization of electrodes which
are configured to be placed in the armpits of the user provide several
advantages. One advantage of the arrangement is that the electrical
activity of the heart which is acquired by positioning the electrodes in
the armpit is a non-precordial acquisition. This means that the distance
between the two electrodes when applied to the individual is significantly
greater than the size of the portable monitor housing.
It has been proposed to provide electrodes directly on the monitor housing
so as to achieve simple and convenient attachment of the electrodes to the
user to acquire the precordial electrical activity of the heart of the
user. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,783 dated Aug. 20, 1985. It is
also well known to provide separate sets of electrodes two of which are
designed for non-precordial acquisition while two others are designed for
precordial acquisition. One such device which has been offered to the
market but has achieved no significant acceptance involves the use of the
monitor of U.S. Pat. No. 3,938,507 with a jacket for containing the
monitor. The jacket had built into it a second set of electrodes that were
mounted on the jacket in a position similar to the mounting in U.S. Pat.
No. 4,535,783. The arrangement required that an electrical connection to
the electrodes on the jacket be provided when the monitor was stored in
the jacket and had the disadvantage of requiring removal of the jacket
when the monitor was to be used in the armpit mode. Accordingly, there
still exists a need for a monitor device which can provide both types of
connections without the disadvantages noted above and in a cost effective
manner.
It is an object of the present invention to fulfill the need noted above.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, this objective
is achieved by providing a device suitable for use under emergency
conditions for acquiring the electrical activity of the heart of a user in
a form suitable for transmission over a telephonic line. The device
includes a portable housing, a pair of electrodes operable when positioned
in operative contacting relation with the skin of a user to require the
electrical activity of the heart of the user, and a pair of elongated
electrical wires connected with the electrodes and with the housing for
transmitting the electrical activity of the heart of the user acquired by
the electrodes to the housing. A sonic speaker is carried by the housing
for creating signals indicative of the electrical activity acquired by the
electrodes in a form suitable for transmission over a telephonic line and
an electric circuit within the housing functions to transmit the
electrical activity acquired by the electrodes and transmitted by the pair
of electrical wires to the sonic speaker so as to create therein signals
indicative of the electrical activity acquired by the electrodes for
transmission over a telephonic line. The electrodes are removably mounted
on the exterior of the housing in commonly outwardly facing spaced
relation with respect to one another in operative positions fixed with
respect to the housing wherein the electrodes are movable with the housing
and retainable in skin contacting relation with the chest of a user
through manual engagement of the housing in housing retained positions
thereon to acquire precordial electrical activity of the heart of the
user. The electrical wires are mounted on the housing so as to be operable
to (1) transmit the precordial electrical activity acquired by the
electrodes when in the housing retained positions, (2) enable the
electrodes to be manually removed from the operative positions fixed with
respect to the housing and extended from the housing into skin contacting
relation with the user in directly retained operative positions spaced
apart substantially greater than the spacing when in the housing retained
positions so as to acquire non-precordial electrical activity of the heart
of the user, and (3) transmit the non-precordial electrical activity
acquired by the electrodes when in the directly retained operative
positions. Preferably, the electrodes are configured to be placed within
the armpits of a user and to be comfortably directly retained within the
armpits by the user so that the non-precordial heart activity of the heart
of the user acquired by the electrodes is between the armpits.
Another object of the present invention is the provision of the type
described which is simple in construction, effective in operation, and
economical to manufacture.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent
during the course of the following detailed description and appended
claims.
The invention may best be understood with reference to the accompanying
drawings wherein an illustrative embodiment is shown.
In The Drawings:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a user retaining a monitor device embodying
the principles of the present invention in a precordial position in solid
lines and a non-precordial or armpit position in dotted lines;
FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the device showing one of the
electrodes in its stored precordial position and the other electrode in
its removed non-precordial or armpit condition;
FIG. 3 is an end view of the device;
FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the device with certain parts broken
away for purposes of clear illustration; and
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the device with certain
parts broken away for purpose of clear illustration.
Referring now more particularly to the drawings, there is shown in FIGS.
2-5 a monitor device, generally indicated at 10, embodying the principles
of the present invention which is suitable for use under emergency
conditions for acquiring the electrical activity of the heart of a user in
a form suitable for transmission over a telephonic line. The device 10
includes a portable housing, generally indicated at 12, which has a width
and thickness suitable to be readily grasped in the hand of a user and a
length which is sufficient to extend slightly beyond the hand of the user
when gripped thereby. The housing 12, as shown, is made up of a front
section 14 and a back section 16 held together by suitable fasteners such
as the bolts 18 illustrated in FIG. 2. The bolts 18 extend through
openings in the back section 16 and threadedly engage within the front
section 14.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, the device 10
also includes a pair of electrodes, generally indicated at 20. A pair of
electrical wires 22 is connected at one end with the electrodes 20 and at
their opposite end with a plug 24. As best shown in FIG. 4, the plug 24
includes two prongs 26 which are adapted to engage with a pair of sockets
28 formed in the end wall of the housing 12. The sockets 28 are connected
with an electrical circuit assembly, generally indicated at 30, which is
mounted within the housing 12 between the front and back sections. The
electrical circuit 30 may be constructed in accordance with the schematics
illustrated in the aforesaid U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,938,507 or 4,535,783. A
preferred embodiment is the circuitry disclosed in commonly assigned
application, Ser. No. 07/172,924, filed Mar. 25, 1988. For present
purposes, the disclosure of the two patents and the aforesaid application
are hereby incorporated by reference into the present specification.
The electrical circuit 30 has connected therein a loudspeaker, generally
indicated at 32, which is mounted within the housing 12 at a position
spaced closely inwardly from a series of openings 34 formed in the front
section 14. The front section 14 also includes a power on light 36 and
certain switches which form a part of the electrical circuit such as a
RECORD WITH NO SOUND switch 38, a RECORD WITH SOUND switch 40, a LIVE
switch 42, and a PLAY BACK switch 43. With the switches shown, power is
turned on by actuating any of the switches and holding it actuated for a
few seconds. When the POWER ON light is lit indicating that the power is
on, the power is turned off by actuating the LIVE switch and holding it
for a few seconds. The POWER ON light 36 also provides a battery check for
the batteries within the housing 12 which power the electrical circuit 30.
The electrical circuitry 30 is provided with a memory having the
capability of storing a predetermined time quantity of the electrical
activity acquired by the electrodes 20 when used in accordance with the
principles of the present invention. When the RECORD WITH NO SOUND switch
38 is actuated with the POWER ON light lit, the electrical activity being
acquired by the electrodes 20 is recorded in the memory without any sound
being produced in the loudspeaker. When the RECORD WITH SOUND switch is
actuated, the electrical activity being acquired by the electrodes 20 is
recorded in the memory with the electrical activity being simultaneously
transmitted to the loudspeaker 32 as signals indicative of the acquired
electrical activity. The PLAY BACK key 43 when operated is effective to
play back the recorded electrical activity over the telephone line. When
the LIVE switch 42 is actuated to turn the power on, the electrical
activity at the electrodes 20 is transmitted over the line.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, the electrodes
20 are constructed so that they are suitable for use in two modes. In the
first mode, the electrodes 20 are extended away from the housing 12 by the
electrical wires 22 and placed within the armpits in accordance with the
teachings of the aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 3,792,700. As shown, each
electrode 20 is configured to be simply and conveniently engaged within an
armpit of the user so as to be directly retained in the armpit between the
upper arm and the chest of the user. As shown, each electrode 20 is formed
of a plastic material having conductive particles embedded therein. An
exemplary plastic is vinyl. Exemplary conductive particles are carbon
particles.
As shown, each electrode 20 is of relatively thin configuration including
opposed generally flat surfaces 44 and 46 of generally rectangular
peripheral configurations with their corners rounded off. The flat
surfaces 44 and 46 of each electrode 20 are defined by a periphery which
is effectively L-shaped in cross-section so as to include a radial edge
surface 48 facing toward the flat surface 46 and an axial edge surface 50
extending from the edge surface 48 to the flat surface 46. It will be
noted that the flat surface 44 is generally rounded at its marginal
periphery so as to merge with edge surface 50 so as not to present any
outward sharp corners. Similarly, the juncture between the flat surface 46
and the edge surface 50 is also rounded but with less radius.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, the back
housing section 16 is formed with two spaced recesses 52, each of which is
of a size and shape to accommodate an electrode. As shown, the peripheral
wall defining each recess 52 is formed with a series of spaced electrode
retaining projections 54. These peripheral projections 54 serve to engage
the peripheral edge surface 50 of an associated electrode 20 so as to
retain the same within the associated recess 52 with the radial edge
surface 46 thereof engaging the adjacent outwardly facing surface of the
housing section 16. In this way, the two electrodes 20 are removably
mounted on the housing 12 in commonly outwardly facing spaced relation
with respect to one another in operative positions fixed with respect to
the housing 12. In this regard it will be noted that the smoother surfaces
44 face commonly outwardly so as to project beyond the outer surface of
the housing section 16 engaged by the edge surfaces 48. In this way, the
electrode surfaces 44 are presented in positions to engage the skin of the
user in the chest area as shown in FIG. 1.
In order to control the position of wires 22 when the electrodes 20 are in
their fixed operative positions within the recesses 52 in the exterior of
the housing 12, the housing sections 14 and 16 are formed so as to provide
a peripheral groove 56 which is spaced laterally from the recesses 52. The
peripheral groove 56 communicates laterally with the recesses 52 through
grooves 58 enabling the adjacent portion of the electrical wire 22 to
extend to the associated electrode 20 when in its fixed operative
position. The adjacent portion of each wire 22 is provided with indicia to
indicate right armpit and left armpit. The insulation of each wire may be
formed of a material similar to the electrodes so as to provide a body
ground. A lateral groove 60 in the end wall of the housing 12 serves to
receive the portion of the wires 22 adjacent the plug 24.
When the wires 22 are stored within the grooves 56, 58, and 60 and the
electrodes 20 are disposed in their fixed positions within recesses 52
with respect to the housing 12, the user can simply grip the housing 12
with one hand and actuate the POWER ON light 36 and move the electrodes 20
with the housing 12 together into a position wherein the surfaces 44 of
the electrodes 20 are in engagement with the skin of the chest, such as
shown in solid lines in FIG. 1. As soon as this contact is made, the
precordial electrical activity of the heart of the user is acquired in the
electrodes for transmittal through the wires 22 to the electrical circuit
30. The acquired electrical activity is transmitted to the loudspeaker 32
as signals indicative of the heart activity which signals are capable of
transmission over the telephone line.
In a second mode, the electrodes 20 can be simply removed from their fixed
operative positions and the wires 22 unwrapped from their storage position
so that the electrodes can be extended away from the housing and be
retained by the user in more widely spaced non-precordials as, for
example, within the armpits as previously indicated. To facilitate removal
of the electrodes 20 from the recesses 52, there is an end groove 62
formed in the ends of the back housing section 16 in communication with
each recess. As best shown in FIG. 5, each groove 62 enables the user to
engage a finger beneath a portion of the edge surface 48 of the associated
electrode 20 so that a simple lifting action will readily disengage the
peripheral edge surface 50 of the electrodes from the projections 54
enabling the electrode to be removed from the associated recess 52.
It will be understood that while the dual mode electrode arrangement of the
present invention is particularly suitable for monitoring devices of the
type for use under emergency conditions such as disclosed in the patents
aforesaid, the arrangement provides a convenience and versatility to
monitoring devices of the type which are simply used as a diagnostic tool
to record and transmit heart activity events over the phone to a
physician. Under these circumstances when an event is taking place, an
emergency condition is presented in which the user must as rapidly as
possible connect the monitor device to acquire the electrical activity of
heart as the event is taking place. The memory of the unit is desirable
under these circumstances to capture or record the electrical activity of
the event as soon as possible at a time even before the user can reach the
telephone.
It thus will be seen that the objects of this invention have been fully and
effectively accomplished. It will be realized, however, that the foregoing
preferred specific embodiments have been shown and described for the
purpose of illustrating the functional and structural principles of this
invention and are subject to change without departure from such
principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications
encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.
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Description |
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