DE9002539U1 - Cable adapter for long-term electrocardiographs (LT-ECG) - Google Patents

Description

r. r"-m * . &Lgr;#

Description

Registrant: Pia Braatz

Cable adapter for long-term electrocardiographs (LT-ECG).

The invention relates to a patient-safe cable connection for the recording of long-term ECGs, with the possibility of processing the ECG signals to be recorded in parallel and connecting them.

When recording 1.2 ECGs , the electrical connection from the patient to the recording device is made via ECG electrode, electrode lead and patient lead. The connection between the electrode lead and patient lead is made via a pin socket (pin plug diameter approx. 1.5 to 4 mm). Two-channel recording devices are mainly used. Two electrodes are placed on the patient per channel. In _addition , a total of one neutral electrode is used.

The disadvantage of the electrical plugs used to date is that patients are at risk of electric shock when the electrode cable is connected to the 220 V mains. Children who are playing are particularly at risk as they can unplug the patient cable and plug the electrode cable into the mains socket in an unsupervised room. It is also not possible to use the ECG signals to be recorded externally at the same time and/or to connect them externally.

The invention is based on the object of eliminating the above-mentioned disadvantages in long-term ECG recording of the type mentioned at the beginning and of creating a cable connection which is designed to be patient-safe and offers additional external processing and/or wiring options for the ECG.

This goal is achieved by adapting the electrode leads to the patient cable not individually but as a collective plug, and by feeding the ECG signals to a miniature plug connection designed for external use (ECG output). The electrode leads can no longer be plugged into the 220 V socket. The ECG output supplies additional devices with the ECG signals or by plugging plug-in modules into the ECG output, the ECG signal can be wired for special purposes.

In the isometric Fig. 1 (scale approx. 1:1) the collector plug 1.1, the patient cable 1.2, the electrode cable connection 1.4 and the plug connection 1.3 for external signal use are shown as an example of a two-channel ECG recording cable.

The electrode cables can be replaced in the event of wear or in the case of special ECG leads using the miniature plug connection 1.4 (ECG input). This is designed electrically and medically like the miniature plug connection 1.3 of the ECG output, so that the ECG input and output can be swapped.

The cable adapter according to the invention offers increased patient safety and the advantage of making ECG signals available for other medical devices. For example, when installing electrodes, the ECG signal is often required for the control monitor or ECG recorder. However, the simultaneous use of other ambulatory recording methods, such as long-term blood pressure monitors, may also require ECG signals. Thanks to the ECG output on the cable adapter, no additional electrodes need to be applied to the patient. Special connections for the ECG channels can also be integrated into the cable adapter or implemented using plug-in modules that are plugged into the ECG output. The special circuits can, for example, connect two bipolar ECG channels to two unipolar ECG channels, or the amplifier input impedances can be changed by ohmic connections of the inverting and non-inverting channel input.

Claims (2)

Sohut &zgr; claims 1. Cable adapter for long-term electrocardiographs (LT-ECG), characterized in that that the plugs of the electrode lines of the long-term ECG are combined as a collective plug connection (Fig. 1.1) and that a plug connection (Fig. 1.3) (blade/spring bar) connected in parallel to the electrode lines is integrated, 2. Cable adapter according to claim 1, characterized in that the electrode cables are interchangeably connected to the cable adapter via a plug connection (blade/spring bar) (Fig. 1.4).