Conductive adhesive and biomedical electrode
AssigneeMinnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
InventorMichael R. Engel
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A biomedical electrode having a conductive adhesive thereon which is derived from an essentially solventless process. The resulting adhesive is characterized in that it is a swellable, dermally-nonirritating conformable, cohesive, ionic, hydrophilic polymer.
Claims16
In an essentially dry biomedical electrode comprising an electrode plate having a first surface and a second surface, said electrode plate having means for electrical connection to a lead wire of an electro-medical device, and a conductive material on said second surface of said electrode plate for enhancing electrical connection with the skin, the improvement wherein said conductive material comprises a swellable, dermally-nonirritating, conformable, cohesive, synthetic, ionic, hydrophilic polymer coating having a continuous covalently-bonded network throughout said coating formed by the essentially solventless process of:
- (a) compounding an adhesive precursor comprising
- (1) a water-soluble polyhydric alcohol which is a liquid at about 20.degree. C,;
- (2) an ionic unsaturated free radically polymerizable material which is soluble in said polyhydric alcohol;
- (3) a free radical initiator;
- and
- (4) a crosslinking agent of a multifunctional unsaturated free radically polymerizable material;
- (b) coating said adhesive precursor on said second surface of said electrode plate or a releasable transfer sheet;
- (c) polymerizing said coated precursor whereby an electrically conductive pressure-sensitive adhesive is formed on said electrode plate or transfer sheet;
- and
- (d) when said adhesive is formed on said transfer sheet, transferring said adhesive to said second surface of said electrode plate.
An essentially dry biomedical electrode comprising an electrode plate having a first surface and a second surface, said electrode plate having means for electrical connection to a lead wire of an electro-medical device, and a conductive material on said second surface of said electrode plate for enhancing electrical connection with the skin, said conductive material being a swellable, non-soluble, dermally-non-irritating, conformable, cohesive, synthetic, ionic, hydrophilic polymer coating having a continuous covalently-bonded network throughout said coating, said polymer being derived from the essentially solventless in situ polymerization of an ionic unsaturated free radically polymerizable material dissolved in a polyhydric alcohol which is a liquid at about 20.degree. C. in the presence of a crosslinking agent of a multifunctional unsaturated free radically polymerizable material and a free radical initiator.
An electrically conductive swellable, non-soluble, dermally-nonirritating, conformable, cohesive, synthetic, ionic hydrophilic adhesive coating having a continuous covalently-bonded network throughout said coating derived from an essentially solventless polymerization of a precursor comprised of a water-soluble polyhydric alcohol which is a liquid at about 20.degree. C., an ionic unsaturated free radically polymerizable merizable material which is soluble in said polyhydric alcohol, a crosslinking agent of a multifunctional unsaturated free radically polymerizable material and a free radical initiator soluble in said polyhydric alcohol, said polymerized precursor resulting in an adhesive coating which is characterized in that it is an electrically conductive polymer.
In a biomedical electrode comprising an electrode plate having an upper surface and a lower skin-directed surface, means for electrically connecting said electrode plate to the lead wire of an electro-medical device, and a coating of an electrically-conductive pressure-sensitive adhesive on said lower surface of said electrode plate for enhancing electrical connection with the skin, the improvement wherein said adhesive coating is swellable, dermally-non-irritating, conformable and cohesive, and is formed from an adhesive precursor comprising:
- (1) a water-soluble polyhydric alcohol which is a liquid at about 20.degree. C.;
- (2) an ionic unsaturated free radically-polymerizable material which is soluble in said polyhydric alcohol;
- (3) a photo-initiator;
- and
- (4) a crosslinking agent of a multifunctional unsaturated free radically-polymerizable material;
- said adhesive precursor being photo-polymerized in situ whereby said adhesive coating is a continuous covalently-bonded network throughout said coating.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.