Physiological recording device with novel and proprietary connector
Electrodes for use in electroencephalographic recording, including consciousness and seizure monitoring applications, have novel features that speed, facilitate or enforce proper placement of the electrodes, including aligning tabs and arrowed aligning juts, color coding, and an insulating bridge between reference and ground electrodes which ensures a safe application distance between the conductive regions of the two electrodes in the event of cardiac defibrillation or to prevent shorting between the adjacent electrodes by preventing the conductive path to be shared. A method of using a set of four such electrodes is also disclosed.
1 . A physiological device comprising an electrode, the electrode further comprising:
a front, a back, and bottom, top, left and right sides;
a conductive region surrounded by an insulating region on the back of the physiological electrode, the insulating region further comprising a handling tab adapted for placing the electrode on a subject; and
a male snap connector on the front of the electrode adapted for connecting to an electrode lead,
wherein the male snap connector is a non-standard male snap connector with the widest portion of the connector being between 2.5 mm and 3.65 mm in diameter,
wherein the electrode lead comprises a female socket configured to mate with the male snap connector, and
wherein insertion of a standard approximately 3.9 mm male snap connector into the female socket requires application of at least 12 N of axial force.
2 . The physiological device of claim 1 , wherein the electrode is a dry electrode having surface features capable of penetrating the stratum corneum of the skin.
3 . The physiological device of claim 1 , wherein the electrode is a pre-gelled electrode having a spongy well of electrically conductive electrolytic fluid, gel or colloid.
4 . The physiological device of claim 1 , wherein the non-standard male snap connector is further non-standard in shape such that the connector is not round.
5 . The physiological device of claim 1 , wherein the front of the electrode is characterized by a color matching a color of an electrode lead to which the electrode is adapted to be attached.
6 . The physiological device of claim 1 , wherein the electrode is part of an array of at least two electrodes, and where each electrode has a differently shaped non-standard male snap connector.
7 . The physiological device of claim 1 , wherein the electrode is part of an array of at least four electrodes, and where the male-snap connector of each electrode has at least one characteristic different from the male-snap connectors of each of the other electrodes in the array, the differences being of size, shape, or color.
8 . The physiological device of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the male snap connectors is a non-standard male snap connector with the widest portion of the connector being between 2.75 mm and 3.20 mm in diameter.
9 . The physiological device of claim 1 , wherein the conductive region comprises an electrolytic fluid, gel or colloid with a hydrogen chloride (HCl) concentration greater than 7% and less than 20%.
10 . The physiological device of claim 1 , wherein the electrode is part of an array of at least three electrodes.
11 . The physiological device of claim 1 , wherein the electrode is part of an array of at least four electrodes.
12 . The physiological device of claim 1 , wherein the electrode is part of an array of at least five electrodes.
13 . The physiological device of claim 1 , wherein the electrode has a label on the front surface containing an alignment indicator corresponding to a direction the electrode is to be oriented when placed on a subject.
14 . The physiological device in claim 1 , wherein the electrode has a non-adhesive or sticky tab of sufficient size and adapted to be grasped between a human forefinger and thumb.
15 . A method of applying at least three electrodes to a subject comprising steps of:
providing at least three electrodes, one of the at least three electrodes comprising a front, a back, and bottom, top, left and right sides, a conductive region surrounded by an insulating region, and a male snap connector on the front,
wherein the male snap connector of the one electrode is a non-standard male snap connector having a widest portion between 2.5 mm and 3.65 mm in diameter;
applying the at least three electrodes to the subject's forehead; and
placing a non-standard sized or shaped electrode lead over the corresponding non-standard male snap connector of each electrode and applying pressure until the lead snaps on to the connector,
wherein the non-standard electrode lead comprises a female socket configured to mate with the male snap connector having a maximum dimension between 2.5 mm and 3.65 mm; and
wherein insertion of a standard approximately 3.9 mm male snap connector into the female socket requires application of at least 12 N of axial force.
16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the electrodes are dry electrodes having surface features configured to pierce the stratum corneum of the patient/s skin.
17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein one of the at least three electrodes comprises a non-standard male snap connector with the widest portion of the connector being between 2.5 and 3.50 mm.
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein a non-standard electrode lead cannot be attached standard-sized male electrode connector with less than 12 N of axial force.
19 . The method of claim 15 , wherein one of the at least three electrodes comprises a non-standard male snap connector that is non-round in shape, and the non-standard electrode lead placed on the connector corresponds to that shape.
20 . The method of claim 15 , wherein at least one of the electrodes includes a color on the front surface that is distinct from the other electrodes, and the non-standard electrode lead corresponds in color to its associated electrode.