Electrode with redundant impedance reduction

An integrated therapy and sensing electrode device comprising:

• a first therapy electrode assembly and a second therapy electrode assembly configured to be disposed in spaced apart positions on a patient's torso, the first therapy electrode assembly and the second therapy electrode assembly each including a therapy electrode;
• two or more ECG sensing electrodes disposed on each of the first therapy electrode assembly and the second therapy electrode assembly for monitoring ECG signals of the patient;
• a first impedance reduction system disposed on each of the first therapy electrode assembly and the second therapy electrode assembly and configured to reduce an impedance between the first therapy electrode assembly and the patient's skin and the second therapy electrode assembly and the patient's skin, respectively;
• and
• a second impedance reduction system disposed on each of the first therapy electrode assembly and the second therapy electrode assembly and configured to reduce the impedance between the first therapy electrode assembly and the patient's skin and the second therapy electrode assembly and the patient's skin, respectively, wherein the first impedance reduction system is configured to deploy electrically conductive gel to reduce the impedance and the second impedance reduction system is configured to deploy conductive gel to reduce the impedance, and wherein the second impedance reduction system is configured to further reduce the impedance for a longer period of time than if both the first and second impedance reduction systems were activated at substantially the same time.