Importance

Loading Importance Indicators...

Abstract

A needle electrode for use with all types of neurological monitoring equipment. The needle electrode includes a needle portion located at the distal end of the needle electrode. The needle portion is inserted into a patient's muscle to the desired depth in order to perform electromyographic examinations. A shank located at the proximal end of the needle electrode is used to connect the needle electrode to a needle electrode holder and then to monitoring equipment. The needle electrode includes a mid-section located between the needle portion and the shank to regulate the depth to which the needle portion penetrates the patient's muscle, and the depth to which the shank is inserted into a needle electrode holder. The mid-section also maintains the needle electrode holder a specified distance away from the patient's skin to help prevent the needle electrode from being contaminated by the patient's bodily fluids. The mid-section includes a first elongate portion extending approximately normal to the needle portion, adapted to lie adjacent an exterior surface of a patient's skin after the needle portion has been inserted into the patient's skin. A second elongate portion is located at the distal end of the shank and extends approximately normal to the shank to regulate the distance that the shank extends into the needle electrode holder. A third elongate portion located between the first and second elongate portions regulates the distance between the exterior surface of the patient's skin and the needle electrode holder.

Loading the Abstract Image...

First Claim