US 6,748,260 B2 · Hand-held surface ECG and RF apparatus incorporated with a medical device

Abstract

A hand-holdable structure implementing electrodes to enable good skin-electrode contact to acquire ECG readings is disclosed. Specifically, the structure is shaped to enable patients to apply a simple gentle grip to have a reliable skin-electrode contact and to automatically commence ECG tracing transmission to a patient monitoring station. In one embodiment the structure incorporates an RF telemetry head to simultaneously transfer IMD stored data in conjunction with the ECG tracings. The structure independently or in combination with the RF telemetry head is adaptable to a system of data communications with a programmer or equivalent instrument to transfer ECG and IMD data to a remotely located physician station or patient data storage server. The system is also adaptable for use with a web-enabled network such as, without limitation, the Internet, intranet, World Wide Web, extranet or equivalent.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A hand device devoid of adhesive material and electrically conductive gel material to establish reliable skin-electrode contact for physiological signal acquisition of surface electrocardiogram (ECG), myocardial electrogram (EGM) and pacemaker stimulation signals from a patient, comprising:

a first bulbous structure including at least one surface electrode, said first bulbous structure configured to be easily manually grasped to thereby establish electrical communication between said at least one surface electrode and one hand of a patient;
a second bulbous structure including at least one surface electrode, said second bulbous structure configured to be easily manually grasped to thereby establish electrical communication between said at least one surface electrode and contact in another hand of the patient;
and
a telemetry unit having operable data communications link with said first bulbous structure and said second bulbous structure,
said first bulbous structure operatively electrically connected to said second bulbous structure wherein a temporal physiological surface EGG signals generated between said first and said second bulbous structures is automatically transmitted to said telemetry unit via said data communication link when electrical communication is established for both the first and second bulbous structures.
wherein the telemetry unit includes means for establishing wireless communication with a pacemaker disposed within the patient so that temporal EGM signals from the pacemaker are automatically communicated via the data communications rink when electrical communication is established for both the first and second bulbous structures.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Hand-held surface ECG and RF apparatus incorporated with a medical device

Life of this patent

Hand-held surface ECG and RF apparatus incorporated with a medical device

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims18