FETAL SPIRAL ELECTRODE SLEEVE AND WIRE INTERCONNECT SYSTEM

摘要

A fetal electrode sleeve and wire interconnect system for transmitting signals indicative of fetal heart rate from a fetus inside a mother through a cable (40) to a monitor (178) external to the mother. The system includes a holder (124) having a fetal spiral electrode (120) on one end and a maternal reference electrode (122) on its opposite end. A safety cap (10) has a retention groove (20), a grip (12), a tip (14) with a recessed end opposite the grip, and a conductive sleeve (16). The conductive sleeve has a first end enclosed by the grip, a second end enclosed by the tip, and an intermediate exposed portion enclosed by neither the grip nor the tip. A twisted wire (6, 8) strand including a pair of insulated wires each having a first end and a second end, the first ends of the wires (6) respectively connected to the fetal electrode and the maternal reference electrode, the second end of one wire attached to the first end of the conductive sleeve (16) and the other wire (8) being disposed inside the conductive sleeve, extending beyond the second end of the conductive sleeve, and terminating at its second end as a bare and exposed wire at the recessed end (24) of the tip (14) so that the second end of the wire (8) is protected. A housing (30) receives the safety cap and facilitates electrical connection between the wires and the cable.