Wearable Electrode Spacer Structure for Breathability and Contact Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wearable medical devices for cardiac care often compromise patient comfort due to inadequate breathability and heat regulation, leading to improper use and reduced effectiveness in maintaining electrode contact during day-to-day activities.
Innovation Solution
A wearable article with a spacer structure that includes a top and bottom permeable layer and a compressible middle layer with springy elements, allowing for airflow and pressure distribution while maintaining electrode contact, and incorporating fluid packs for pressure regulation during electrical shock treatments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a wearable medical device uses a rigid structure to maintain electrode contact with the patient, then electrode contact stability is improved, but patient comfort deteriorates due to heat trapping and restricted body movement
Solution Approach 1:
The containment portion is constructed with flexible support materials that can bend and conform to body movements while maintaining electrode contact. The spacer structure uses compressible materials with springy elements that flex during patient movement, preventing heat trapping and discomfort while ensuring reliable electrode-skin contact throughout daily activities.
Solution Approach 2:
The device incorporates pressure regulation mechanisms that dynamically adjust the contact pressure applied to the electrode. By changing the pressure parameter in response to patient movement and comfort needs, the system maintains reliable electrical contact without excessive force that would cause discomfort or restrict movement.
2Reliability
If the wearable device applies continuous pressure to maintain electrode contact, then contact firmness is improved, but patient comfort deteriorates due to discomfort and heat accumulation
Solution Approach 1:
The compressible middle layer with springy elements provides periodic contact pressure as the patient moves, rather than continuous static pressure. This allows air circulation and heat dissipation between compression cycles while maintaining adequate electrode contact during each compression phase, reducing heat accumulation and discomfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The spacer structure incorporates porous or permeable materials that allow air circulation and heat dissipation between the electrode and the patient's body. This reduces heat accumulation and improves comfort while the compressible nature of the porous material maintains contact pressure when compressed during movement.
3Ease of operation
If the wearable device uses a thick spacer structure for cushioning, then patient comfort is improved, but device complexity and size increase
Solution Approach 1:
The spacer structure uses composite materials combining different properties in a single integrated component. The compressible middle layer integrates cushioning, breathability, and pressure distribution functions into one material system, providing patient comfort without requiring multiple separate components or complex structural arrangements.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a comfortable and effective means of maintaining electrode contact, enabling continuous long-term wear and potentially reducing the energy required for shock treatments, while allowing for breathability and temperature regulation.
Implementation Method 1
A compressible middle layer having a plurality of springy elements is dispersed between the top permeable layer and the bottom permeable layer for airflow through the spacer structure
Implementation Method 2
A compressible middle layer having a plurality of springy elements is dispersed between the top permeable layer and the bottom permeable layer
Implementation Method 3
Pressure exerted on an electrode pad that holds the electrode may urge the electrode against the body of the patient
Data Source
AI summary
A wearable article is provided as a wearable component of a medical device configured with elements to accommodate electrode pads in a manner that offers flexibility, cushion, and temperature regulation for comfort of a patient, as well as facilitating distribution of pressure on the electrode pads against the body of the patient. A containment portion of the wearable article houses the electrode pad and a spacer structure. The spacer structure is flexible to move as the body of the patient moves and yet provides a level of stiffness for pressure on the underlying electrode. Numerous springy elements dispersed in the spacer structure provide a thickness and open space for air circulation through the spacer structure, resulting in temperature regulation of the wearable article.