US2685881A - Chest strap for holding an electrode - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 10, 1954 M. L. KELLY CHEST STRAP FOR HOLDING AN ELECTRODE Filed Feb. 14, 1952 Marcus L. Kelly INVENTOR.

Patented Aug. 10,1954

one-s1 rormrommtrnn ":IEEECTRODE' .Marcus L i. Kelly, SthPaul, Minn. ;He l'enM. Y Kelly,

administratrfxt df'said Marcus Kelly, deceased?assignorto'herself Ap lieanomrebmamm, 1952;.Serial-Nos2171s588:

iiolaiiii; (01. 128 -418? .Thiainventionrelates generally tocheststraps; and more-specifieally itochest straps (whichare specifically designed. for; engaging: the-chest of a; patient having.anelectroseardiogram wherebyeleotrode'; may I firmly, held position. .on the-- chest, of the.-.patient.-. 1

When a; person .is. havinga an electroscardio. gram -made it is necessary ,thata metal diskeor chest-1, electrode. be. held against :portions 1 of. his chestfona-period ofrtime whilerdifferent-readings are: being; made. Sincethisisa .testiof the-patients heartevibrations it ;is.-necessary that: the metalldisk-r or chest:.electrode= be heldafirmly against the chest of the patient withouti any movement with respect to the chest. The normal prcceduregisitoz'have the patient:holdthe-metal disk or chestelectrode in vthesvarious. positions, seven in all, while the readingsare being taken. However, it is well known tliat a person carnhold un -object fiimly-for-only-a short time before-the hands begins to shakee Furtliermore,-=not only is the metal disk-or- -chestzelectrode apt to move with respect to the chest due to fatigue of the patients hand, but the; average, personf is; generallynervouswhen testsmade on" them by doctorsso that it is difficult for them to hold the metal disk or chest electrode steady for even a short period of time. It is therefore desirable to have some means for holding the metal disk or electrode firmly against the chest and in a manner which it may be easily shifted from one position to the other.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an improved hold down device for firmly holding a chest electrode against the chest of a patient having an electro-cardiogram made.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved hold down device for holding a chest electrode against portions of a patients chest, said hold down device being flexible so as to conform generally to the configurations of the patients chest.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved hold down device for holding a chest electrode against portions of a patients chest, said device maintained in place due to its weight and the friction between its lower surface and the chest of the patient.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved hold down device for chest electrodes which is of an extremely simple construction and economically manufactured.

Another object of this invention is to provide a hold down device for chest electrodes to which the chest electrode may be quickly and easily secured and removed from.

.2 a still further object of" thislinventidnl is'i' to provide an improved hold-down device for'. chest electrodes: whichwill firmly. hold the. electroded ri place but may be. easily shifted as .desiredlari'dfjis' comfortable, andls'tead m- Withtliese objects definitely i n 'view, thiSJih-E' and position ot. a keyhole slot' for :receiv-in'g-, :i-

chest electrode :and securing the sameto-the hold down device; 1

Figure-g2 is aside. elevationah view of the. hold down device of Figure 1 and'shows theiuppen-and lcvverysur-faoeathereof asbeingfia-t and plain v figurefizis a partial perspective view: oft-the end portioni-ot ,thezholdudown devicethavinggtheekey: holenslotithereinzandnshowsthe exact-figuration thereof; and,

Figure 4 is a partial perspective view of one end of the hold down device of Figure 1 and is similar to Figure 3, the chest electrode being illustrated as secured within the'keyhole slot.

Similar characters of reference designate similar or identical elements and portions throughout the specification and throughout the different views of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings in particular, it will be seen that the hold down device is in the form of an elongated strap I0 having sides I2 and ends 44. As is best illustrated in Figure 2, the strap I0 has perfectly smooth upper and lower surfaces and is of a constant thickness.

In order that a chest electrode may be visibly secured with respect to the strap H), the strap is provided with a keyhole slot l6 opening through one of its sides I2 adjacent one of the ends M. The keyhole slot [6 includes a substantially circular opening I8 which is communicated to the exterior of the strap H) by a relatively narrow opening 20.

Referring now to Figure 4 particularly, it will be seen that the chest electrode includes a flat metal disk 22 which has at right angles thereto a circular stem portion 24. The stem portion 24 has a transverse bore 26 thereto and in which is received one end of an electrical conductor 28. Carried by the stem portion 24 is a locking screw 30 which extends into the bore 26 and opening 20 of the keyhole slot and the stem portion 24 is moved towards the substantially circular opening l8. Due to the resiliency of the strap ID, the stem portion 24 may be jammed through the opening 29 and engages within the substantially circular opening [8 which is of substantially the same diameter as th stem portion 24.

It has been found that the strap l0, when made of a heavy rubber, is quite satisfactory and that the rubber has a surface'which has a high coefficient friction and is not prone to sliding with respect to the chest of the patient. Furthermore, the flexible rubber permits the strap to conform to the general contours of the chest of the patient and therefore provides a greater holding surface. It has been found that a heavy rubber stray about 16 inches long, one and one half inches wide, and about one-eighth of an inch thick has sufficient weight and chest engaging surface whereby the chest electrode will be firmly held on the chest of the patient having an electro-cardiogram made.

A primary advantage of forming the strap of rubber is that the rubber does not present a cold surface to be placed on the bare chest of the patient and since the rubber assumes the general contour of the patients chest the weight thereof is distributed evenly over the entire underside of the strap. I

It has been found that a rubber strap of the type illustrated in the drawings and described above is very suitable and may be quickly and easily moved from one position to another during 4 the course of making the electro-cardiogram and due to the resiliency thereof the chest electrode may be easily and quickly engaged with or removed from the keyhole slot 16 therein. Furthermore, the rubber strap may be easily rolled up or folded up for storing same. 7

The operation of this device will be understood from the foregoing description of the details thereof, taken in connection with the above recited objects and drawings. Further description will appear to be unnecessary.

Minor modifications of the device, varying in minor details from the embodiment of the device illustrated and described here, may be resorted to without departure from the spirit and scope of this invention, as defined in the appended claim.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

As a new article of manufacture, a holddown for electro-cardiogram electrodes of the type including an elongated handle and a metallic disc on one end of said handle, said holddown comprising; a flexible resilient rubber chest strap of substantial thickness adapted to rest on the chest of the patient and conform to the contours thereof by reason of its flexibility and weight for frictionally retaining said strap against relative movement, said strap having an open keyhole slot in one end portion thereof for the reception of the electrode for removably mounting same on the strap, the restrictedportion of the keyhole slot being of a width less than thediameter of the handle.

References Cited in the file of this patent v UNITED STATES PATENTS Number

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