JP3923861B2 - Biological electrode - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electrode (biological electrode) for obtaining a biological signal, and more particularly to a disposable biological electrode that does not require a cable.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a biological signal acquisition device typified by an electrocardiograph, a biological electrode for detecting the potential of the skin surface of a subject is used. There are various types of such biological electrodes, and broadly divided into an electrode part to be attached to the skin of a subject and a cable (also referred to as a lead) for connecting the electrode part and the biological signal acquisition device. ) Are integrated (integrated type), and the electrode part and cable part are detachable, and the electrode part is disposable (separated type).
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in any configuration, the cable portion is repeatedly used for a plurality of subjects. Although cables are usually designed to be durable enough, the possibility of disconnection cannot be eliminated. In addition, for example, when acquiring a long time in daily life, such as acquiring an electrocardiogram signal using a Holter electrocardiograph, etc., the daily life must be sent with the cable attached, thus improving the wearing feeling For this reason, a thin cable is often used. Since the cable is thin and the subject takes various postures in daily life, the possibility of disconnection must be higher than the cable used for signal acquisition at rest. In addition, if the biological signal is acquired without noticing the disconnection, the acquisition may have to be performed again, which increases the burden on the subject.
[0004]
Furthermore, in the conventional separation-type bioelectrode, it is necessary to connect each electrode part to a cable, and the connection operation is complicated.
In addition, the conventional bioelectrode is designed so that the cable portion is long in order to cover the physique difference of the subject, and there is a problem that the cable becomes tangled at the time of attachment / detachment or troublesome when changing clothes. It was.
In particular, in the integrated bioelectrode, since the same electrode is repeatedly used for a plurality of subjects, maintenance such as cable cleaning is required every time the subject is changed.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve such problems of the prior art, the bioelectrode according to the present invention has the following configuration.
That is, a biological electrode that is attached to the body surface of a subject and acquires a biological signal of the subject, and a resin film provided with a conductive pattern , and a resin film on the conductive pattern , facing the resin film and a stretchable base provided, the conductive pattern is formed from a plurality of electrode portions for detecting a biological signal, a plurality of wiring portions connected at one end to those plurality of electrode portions, a plurality The electrode part consists of one central electrode part and a plurality of peripheral electrode parts, and a plurality of wiring parts corresponding to the plurality of peripheral electrode parts correspond to the central electrode part in the section from the other end to the vicinity of the central electrode part Arranged in parallel and close to the wiring part, and in a section extending from the vicinity of the central electrode part to the plurality of peripheral electrode parts, so as to extend in a different direction from the wiring parts corresponding to the other peripheral electrode parts. Paired with the peripheral electrode And a plurality of wiring portions, least a part of the section extending from the central electrode portion near to the plurality of peripheral electrode portion has a serpentine shape, and a base provided on the wiring portion having a skilled serpentine shape, independently of one another It can be expanded and contracted.
[0006]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, a case where the present invention is applied to a bioelectrode used in a Holter electrocardiograph will be described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to other electrocardiographs, and is used to acquire biosignals other than electrocardiogram signals. It can also be applied to electrodes.
[0007]
■ (First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a configuration example of the biological electrode according to the first embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the mounting surface side to a subject. The bioelectrode shown in FIG. 1 is a bioelectrode for acquiring a 1ch induction signal, and has a center electrode portion 30 and two peripheral electrode portions 10 extending from the center electrode portion 30. In addition, although mentioned later for details, the electrode provided in each electrode part is not electrically connected. That is, the wiring of the peripheral electrode portion 10 passes over the central electrode portion 30, but the respective wirings are insulated from each other. The wiring from each electrode part is collected in the terminal part 40, and it connects with the connector of an electrocardiograph directly or through another cable.
[0008]
Each peripheral electrode portion 10 is connected to the central electrode portion 30 by the stretchable wiring portion 20. In FIG. 1, since the conductive pattern of the stretchable wiring portion 20 is actually attached to the back side (non-mounting surface side) of the base 11, it can be seen through the base 11.
[0009]
2 is a plan view showing a detailed configuration example of the peripheral electrode section 10 and the stretchable wiring section 20 in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view seen from the non-wearing surface side of the subject, contrary to FIG.
[0010]
In the present embodiment, the peripheral electrode portion 10 and the stretchable wiring portion 20 are provided on the common base 11. The base 11 is preferably a soft material that is thin, stretchable, and less irritating when it touches the skin. For example, a non-woven fabric using PET, rayon, urethane, or the like can be used. A protective film 12 having a conductive pattern 23 printed thereon is attached to the base 11 with an adhesive (not shown). The conductive pattern is, for example, an alloy of silver and silver chloride, and the protective film can be, for example, a resin film having a thickness of about 100 μm, such as a PET film.
[0011]
The tip of the conductive pattern 23 forms an electrode 13, and the electrode 13 is configured to be positioned at the approximate center of the peripheral electrode portion 10. A region of the base 11 corresponding to the electrode 13 and the vicinity thereof is cut out in a substantially circular shape so that the electrode 13 is exposed. A conductive gel 14 is provided on the electrode 13. Therefore, when the electrode is attached, the gel 14 is in close contact with the skin of the subject, and the biological signal of the attachment site is conducted to the electrode 13 through the gel 14 and further transmitted through the conductive pattern 23. An adhesive 15 is applied on the mounting surface side of the base 11 and around the gel 14 to make the mounting more reliable. The adhesive 15 is, for example, a silicon adhesive.
[0012]
The portion of the conductive pattern 23 corresponding to the stretchable wiring portion 20 has a meandering shape as shown in the figure, and the protective film 12 also has a meandering shape corresponding to the conductive pattern 23. Since the base 11 has stretchability and the conductive pattern 23 and its protective film 12 have a meandering shape, the stretchable wiring portion 20 can be stretched according to the stretch of the base 11 without breaking the conductive pattern 23. .
[0013]
The shape of the conductive pattern 23 and the protective film 12 provided on the stretchable wiring portion 20 may be any shape as long as the conductive pattern 23 can be stretched without being judged. For example, as shown in FIG. There may be. The degree of meandering can be appropriately determined by the wiring length to be supported (range of distance that the peripheral electrode portion 10 should be able to reach with respect to the central electrode portion 30). In other words, when it is necessary to deal with a wide range of wiring lengths, the conductive pattern 23 may be greatly meandered or the meander frequency increased. On the other hand, when it is sufficient to cope with a narrow wiring length, a gently meandering conductive pattern 23 closer to a straight line can be employed.
[0014]
Further, as shown in FIG. 5, by providing a cut 24 in the base 11 corresponding to the meandering portion of the conductive pattern 23, it is possible to cope with a wiring length exceeding the stretchability of the material of the base 11. Instead of providing the notches 24 for each meandering portion, changes such as providing a predetermined number or providing a range in which no notch is provided and a range in which no notch is provided can be arbitrarily performed.
[0015]
Furthermore, it is not always necessary that the conductive pattern 23 provided in the stretchable wiring portion 20 meanders, and may partially meander as shown in FIG. However, it is desirable to consider that the base 11 is made of a material that is not very stretchable so that the conductive pattern 23 in the non-meandering portion is not broken by the tension applied when the base 11 is stretched.
[0016]
Moreover, as shown in FIG. 7, in the protective film 12 corresponding to a meandering part, it is preferable that the shape of the bend corner A located on the outer side is rounded. When the protective film 12 having an acute angle is used, there is a possibility that the skin of the subject is stimulated and the wearing feeling is deteriorated. The bend corner B located on the inner side may or may not be rounded.
[0017]
Next, the structure of the center electrode part 30 and the terminal part 40 is demonstrated with reference to FIG. FIG. 8A is an enlarged plan view seen from the mounting surface side of the central electrode portion 30, and FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view of a portion from the central electrode portion 30 to the end portion 40.
[0018]
The configuration of the central electrode unit 30 is basically the same as that of the peripheral electrode unit 10 described with reference to FIG. 3, but the wiring pattern printed on the protective film 12 is not limited to the electrode 13 of the central electrode unit 30, but the peripheral electrode. The difference is that the conductive pattern 23 extending to the portion 10 is included. The conductive pattern 23 extending to the peripheral electrode portion 10 is routed to the end portion 40 along the periphery of the opening of the base 11 provided in the center of the central electrode portion 30 in order to expose the electrode 13. Since the protective film 12 on which the conductive pattern 23 is printed is an insulator, the three conductive patterns that are printed on the same protective film and extend from the end portion to each electrode portion are insulated from each other.
[0019]
Since the base 11 does not exist in the part from the central electrode part 30 to the terminal part 40, the insulating layer 32 is provided by coating, for example, in order to prevent the conductive pattern 23 from being exposed. The insulating layer 32 is not provided in the connector portion of the end portion 40 that is electrically connected to the electrocardiograph or the connector conversion cable for connecting the electrocardiograph. Further, in order to reinforce the connector portion, a reinforcing member 41 is attached to the back surface. The insertion surface mark 42 is a mark printed on the surface of the insulating layer 32 and clearly indicates the insertion direction to the electrocardiograph or the connector conversion cable for connecting an electrocardiograph.
[0020]
Such a bioelectrode can be manufactured, for example, by the following process. That is, the conductive pattern of the whole biological electrode is printed on the protective film 12 and die-cut. On the other hand, a base 11 having a shape corresponding to each electrode part and the stretchable wiring part 20 connecting them is created. An opening for the electrode is also provided. Then, an adhesive is applied to the surface of the protective film 12 where the conductive pattern 23 is formed, and is bonded to the base 11. The gel 14, the adhesive 15, the insulating layer 32, and the reinforcing member 41 may be provided at an appropriate timing. And finally, the peeling film which covers the gel 14 and the adhesive 15 is attached.
[0021]
Alternatively, the central electrode part 30 and the terminal part 40 are created as one part (central electrode part), and the peripheral electrode part 10 corresponding to the stretchable wiring part 20 is created as one part (peripheral electrode part). In the case of a letter-shaped bioelectrode, it can also be manufactured by attaching two peripheral electrode parts to the central electrode part. The central electrode component and the peripheral electrode component can be bonded together by fusing the protective films so that the conductive pattern is conductive.
[0022]
Next, the usage method of the bioelectrode which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated using FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 9A, the biological electrode according to the present embodiment is provided in a state in which the peripheral electrode portion 10 extending in the lateral direction from the central electrode portion 30 is folded on the central electrode portion 30.
[0023]
First, the peeling film of the peripheral electrode part 10 located in the upper part is peeled off and attached to the upper end of the sternum. And the center electrode part 30 is affixed on the position which hung down naturally (FIG.9 (b)). Next, the release film of the other peripheral electrode part 10 is peeled off and attached to the left chest side surface (FIG. 9C). In this case, the center electrode part 30 functions as an indifferent electrode.
[0024]
After mounting the bioelectrode in this manner, the end portion 40 is inserted into the connector of the electrocardiograph or the other end of the connector conversion cable having one end connected to the connector of the electrocardiograph. The connector conversion cable is a cable that converts the shape of the connector portion of the bioelectrode according to the present embodiment into a connector having an arbitrary shape and pin arrangement. By using this conversion cable, an electrocardiograph adapted to a conventional bioelectrode In addition, the bioelectrode according to the present embodiment can be used.
[0025]
Thus, the bioelectrode according to the present embodiment can be disposable with a simple configuration. Therefore, maintenance such as cable cleaning as in the case of the conventional integrated bioelectrode is not required, and it does not take time and is improved in terms of hygiene. Moreover, since the electrode part and the cable part are integrated, the trouble of individually connecting the electrode and the cable as in the case of the separated bioelectrode is not required.
Furthermore, since the stretchable wiring portion corresponding to the conventional cable has stretchability, the cable does not remain even when used by subjects of various body types, and the wearing feeling is good. In addition, since the positions of the electrodes are roughly determined in advance, it is easier to set a reference for the electrode attachment position than the conventional biological electrode, and the subject can be easily worn.
[0026]
■ (Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the base 11 constituting the stretchable wiring portion 20 has a strip shape that is unrelated to the shape of the meandering conductive pattern 23. On the other hand, the bioelectrode according to the present embodiment is characterized in that the base 11 constituting the stretchable wiring portion 20 has substantially the same shape as the protective film 12 of the conductive pattern 23.
[0027]
FIG. 10 is an enlarged plan view of the peripheral electrode portion 10 and the stretchable wiring portion 20 portion of the bioelectrode according to the present embodiment. As is clear from comparison with FIG. 2, which is a similar drawing in the first embodiment, the base 11 of the bioelectrode according to this embodiment has substantially the same shape as the protective film 12.
[0028]
By configuring in this way, for example, when manufacturing the peripheral electrode component described above, it becomes possible to die-cut at once after bonding the protective film 12 printed with the conductive pattern 23 and the base 11, Manufacturing is easier. Further, there is an advantage that the stretchability of the stretchable wiring portion 20 is increased. Further, as described with reference to FIG. 6, the entire conductive pattern 23 connecting the electrode portions does not necessarily meander, and may partially meander. For example, FIG. 11 shows a configuration example in which only the central portion of the conductive pattern 23 is meandered.
[0029]
■ (Third embodiment)
FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a configuration example of a bioelectrode according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The bioelectrode according to the present embodiment has the same configuration as that of the bioelectrode according to the first embodiment except that the peripheral electrode portion 10 (and the corresponding stretchable wiring portion 20) is increased to three.
[0030]
That is, the biological electrode according to the present invention can arbitrarily set the number and attachment positions of the peripheral electrode portions 10 according to the type of biological signal to be acquired and the number of channels. In the example shown in FIG. 12, it is possible to acquire 2ch electrocardiogram signals. FIG. 13 shows another configuration example as electrode arrangement. A specific example in the case of using the electrode arrangement of FIG. 13D is shown in FIG.
[0031]
In the configuration shown in FIG. 12, it is of course possible to use the stretchable wiring portion 20 having the shape as shown in the second embodiment. A configuration example in this case is shown in FIG.
[0032]
[Other Embodiments]
In the above-described embodiment, only the case where the base 11 is made of the same material has been described. However, since the stretchability is required only in the stretchable wiring portion 20 in principle, the peripheral electrode portion 10 or The base used in the central electrode part 30 may be made of a material different from the base of the stretchable wiring part 20 part.
[0033]
In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which each peripheral electrode unit 10 is connected to the central electrode unit 30 is shown, but the central electrode unit 30 is not necessarily provided with an electrode. That is, it may have only a function of connecting the peripheral electrode portions 10 and a function of collecting the conductive patterns 23 from the peripheral electrode portions 10 to the end portion 40.
[0034]
Furthermore, the outer shape of each electrode portion is not limited to a circle, and any shape can be adopted.
[0035]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, by integrating the electrode portion and the cable portion with a simple configuration, the conventionally required cable can be made unnecessary and can be disposable including the cable portion. Disconnection due to repeated use can be eliminated. In addition, it is possible to improve the feeling of wearing by giving the cable portion elasticity.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an overall configuration example of a bioelectrode according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a plan view showing a configuration example of a peripheral electrode portion 10 and a stretchable wiring portion 20 in FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another shape example of the conductive pattern 23 provided in the stretchable wiring section 20;
5 is a diagram showing another configuration example of the stretchable wiring section 20. FIG.
6 is a view showing still another example of the shape of the conductive pattern 23 provided in the stretchable wiring portion 20. FIG.
7 is a diagram illustrating the shape of a conductive pattern 23 provided in the stretchable wiring portion 20. FIG.
8 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a central electrode part 30 and a terminal part 40 in FIG.
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a procedure for attaching the bioelectrode shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a configuration example of a peripheral electrode portion 10 and a stretchable wiring portion 20 in a biological electrode according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a plan view showing another configuration example of the biological electrode according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a plan view showing an overall configuration example of a bioelectrode according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a plan view showing another electrode arrangement example of the biological electrode according to the third embodiment of the present invention.
14 is a plan view showing a configuration example of a bioelectrode having the electrode arrangement shown in FIG. 13 (d).
FIG. 15 is a plan view showing an example in which the configuration of the stretchable wiring portion in the second embodiment is applied to a biological electrode according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (4)

A biological electrode that is attached to the body surface of the subject and obtains the biological signal of the subject,
A resin film provided with a conductive pattern;
On the conductive pattern, having a stretchable base provided to face the resin film ,
The conductive pattern is formed of a plurality of electrode portions for detecting the biological signal, and a plurality of wiring portions having one ends connected to the plurality of electrode portions ,
The plurality of electrode portions are composed of one central electrode portion and a plurality of peripheral electrode portions,
The plurality of wiring portions corresponding to the plurality of peripheral electrode portions are arranged in parallel and close to the wiring portion corresponding to the central electrode portion in a section from the other end to the vicinity of the central electrode portion, and the center In the section from the vicinity of the electrode portion to the plurality of peripheral electrode portions, it is arranged to extend in a direction different from the wiring portion corresponding to the other peripheral electrode portions,
Wherein the plurality of the plurality of wiring portions corresponding to the peripheral electrode portion, the least a part of the section extending from the central electrode portion near to said plurality of peripheral electrode portion has a serpentine shape, and the wiring having the serpentine shape the provided parts base, bioelectrode which is a retractable independently of one another. The base provided in the section from the vicinity of the central electrode portion to the plurality of peripheral electrode portions of the plurality of wiring portions corresponding to the plurality of peripheral electrode portions has a strip shape including the wiring portion having the meandering shape. claim 1 Symbol placement biological electrode and having. The living body according to claim 2, wherein the base provided in a section from the vicinity of the central electrode portion to the plurality of peripheral electrode portions of the plurality of wiring portions corresponding to the plurality of peripheral electrode portions has a cut. electrode. A plurality of wiring portions corresponding to the plurality of peripheral electrode portion, said base being provided from the central electrode portion near the section leading to the plurality of peripheral electrode portion, to have the wiring portion and substantially the same shape in the section claim 1 Symbol placement biological electrode and said.

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