Patent ID: 7970450
Filing Date: 2011-06-28
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for wireless monitoring of at least one electrical signal from a patient's skin, said apparatus comprising in combination a disposable electrode patch and a monitoring unit: the disposable electrode patch having a relatively thin and flexible sealed housing having an adhesive surface effective for releasably adhering said electrode patch to the patient's skin, said housing having a single continuous surface with a pair of end portions and a center portion disposed between the end portions, each of the end portions having a width that is greater than a width of the center portion, a power source comprising a disposable battery positioned in the housing for providing power, the housing further containing a printed circuit board operatively connected to the power source for distributing power, a plurality of electrodes operably connected with said circuit board and positioned only in the end portions of said housing and are spaced apart so as to detect the electrical signal when the patch is properly adhered to the patient's skin, one of the electrodes being a ground electrode for grounding the electrode patch to the patient, a converter connected with said plurality of electrodes for receiving a plurality of detected electrical signals and for converting the plurality of detected electrical signals to a single digital signal, a processor having a clock and connected with said converter for processing the digital signal responsive to time, a transceiver for transmitting and receiving wireless signals, the transceiver connected with said processor for transmitting a processed digital signal via an antenna positioned in the housing as a wireless signal by short range radio frequency to the monitoring unit; and the monitoring unit being reusable and portable by the patient, the monitoring unit comprising a transceiver effective in wireless communication with said electrode patch for receiving the wireless signal transmitted by the electrode patch and then transmitting the processed digital signal via a cellular telephone system to a computer, the monitoring unit further comprising at least one communication port for external communications and the monitoring unit is remotely programmable from a base station processor communicating therewith through at least one communication port.