Patent ID: 11911607
Assignee: MEDTRONIC XOMED, INC.
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 16:
17. A method of monitoring electromyographic (EMG) signals of a patient's laryngeal muscles, comprising:
providing an endotracheal tube having an exterior surface and only three conductive electrodes printed on the exterior surface, wherein the three conductive electrodes are laterally offset to substantially surround a circumference of the endotracheal tube;
positioning the endotracheal tube in a trachea of the patient with at least a subset of the three conductive electrodes in contact with the trachea; and
sensing the EMG signals from the laryngeal muscles with at least the subset of the three conductive electrodes when the endotracheal tube is positioned in the trachea of the patient;
wherein one conductive electrode of the only three conductive electrodes is longitudinally staggered with the other conductive electrodes of the only three conductive electrodes.