GB2519743B

GB2519743B - Microcurrent electrical neuromuscular stimulator apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2519743B
Application number: GB1316924.8A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Palmer Joanne
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2013-09-24
Filing date: 2013-09-24
Publication date: 2019-07-24
Anticipated expiration: 2033-09-24
Also published as: GB201316924D0; WO2015044636A1; GB2519743A

Description

The following terms are registered trade marks and should be read as such wherever they occur in this document:

Bluetooth (registered)

MICROCURRENT ELECTRICAL NEUROMUSCULAR STIMULATOR APPARATUS

Technical Field

This invention relates to an apparatus for use in providing microcurrent electrical neuromuscular stimulation ("MENS”]. In this specification the term "microcurrent” is used to refer to an electrical current in the range 0 to 1000 pA [microampere]. In particular this invention relates to a MENS apparatus which includes an electrical power source and a component wearable on an operator’s hand, the wearable component including electrodes adapted to provide a predetermined microcurrent to an area of a subject’s body when applied to the body.

Background

It is known to use MENS apparatus to send weak electrical signals into a body. MENS devices apply extremely small electrical currents or microcurrents of less than 1000 pA to nerves of the body using electrodes placed on the skin of the body. MENS devices are distinct from "TENS" devices which typically use electrical currents of 1 mA (milliampere] or greater. MENS treatment delivers very small electrical impulses that mirror the body’s own natural bio electrical field. In most cases, treatment is virtually sub- sensory, with just a slight electrical tingling sensation. MENS treatment was originally developed for treating facial palsy, but is now also used in physiotherapy for pain control and in hospitals for wound healing. MENS apparatus has been used for treatments for age-related macular degeneration, wound healing, tendon repair, and ruptured ligament recovery, and for cosmetic treatments.

When used in cosmetic treatment for aging skin, the low level electrical current triggers the body’s natural skin enhancement chemicals at a cellular level MENS treatment can achieve a number of cosmetic benefits, including improved muscle tone in the face and neck, lifting of jowels and eyebrows, reducing or eliminating fine lines and wrinkles, improved facial circulation, assistance in lymphatic drainage, and enhanced product penetration to treat multiple skin problems. MENS treatment provides a number of cosmetic benefits: • re-educates muscles, • increases blood and lymph circulation, • enhances the penetration of the active ingredients of skin care formulations, • increases the production of collagen and elastin, • increases protein synthesis, gluconeogenesis and cell membrane transport, • increases mitochondria activity, adenosine triphosphate (ATP).

The use of MENS apparatus re-programs the muscle fibre, allowing the muscle to lengthen or shorten depending on the direction of the application. The procedure applies a current to lift and "re-educate” muscles.

Typically the current is applied as a square wave signal of low frequency, for example an oscillating direct current which switches direction every 2 to 3 seconds.

Typically the current is applied by placing electrodes, for example in the form of rods held in the hand of the operator, at the location on the body to which the current is applied. Such rods are uncomfortable for the operator to use, and when used for long periods can cause repetitive strain injury ("RSI”) problems for the operator. The patient can feel discomfort through the placement of two rods directly on the skin whenever a current is applied, since the rods are hard to the touch. The operator must select different rods when it is required to provide contact areas of different shape or size, making the treatment process more laborious.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which overcomes one or more of the above problems.

Summary of Invention

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus for providing microcurrent stimulation to an area of a body, the apparatus comprising an electrical power source, first and second gloves each adapted to be worn on an operator’s hand, and a switching controller, wherein each glove includes at least a first electrode and a second electrode disposed on different areas of the glove and electrical connection means connecting each glove to the electrical power source and adapted to deliver an electric current from the electrical power source to the electrodes, and wherein the switching controller is adapted to deliver an electric current from the electrical power source selectively to the first electrode or to the second electrode of the first glove through a person being treated and selectively to the first electrode or to the second electrode of the second glove.

The apparatus may include a control interface, adapted to control the switching controller in response to a touch input from an operator. Alternatively the control interface may comprise a push button. The control interface may cause the switch controller to toggle through a number of states, each state corresponding to a different arrangement of electrodes to which electric current is delivered.

The control interface may include a display panel adapted to indicate to which of the first and second electrodes the switching controller is adapted to deliver an electric current. The display panel may include graphical representations of the electrodes or their position on the hand of the operator. The display panel may include LED lights or other illumination or electronic display means, to indicate to which of the electrodes the switching controller is adapted to deliver an electric current.

The glove may include at least first, second and third electrodes disposed on different areas of the glove and electrical connection means adapted to deliver an electric current from the electrical power source to the electrodes. The switching controller may be adapted to selectively deliver an electric current from the electrical power source to one of the said electrodes. The first electrode may be on a thumb of the operator. The second electrode may be on a first finger of the operator. The third electrode may be on a another finger of the operator, for example the fourth finger, or on a side of the hand of the operator.

The apparatus may comprise first and second switching controllers associated with the first and second gloves respectively, wherein each switching controller is adapted to selectively deliver an electric current from the electrical power source to the first electrode or to the second electrode of its associated glove.

The glove may be a disposable glove. The glove may be a washable glove. The glove may be made of insulating material. The glove may be of rubber.

The switching controller may be provided on one of the gloves.

Each glove may include a control interface, adapted to control the switching controller in response to a touch input from an operator. The control interface may include a display panel adapted to indicate to which electrode the switching controller is adapted to deliver an electric current.

Each glove may comprise a glove body portion and a detachable cuff portion, wherein the control interface and display panel are provided on the detachable cuff portion of the glove, and wherein the glove body portion includes electrical contacts adapted to make an electrical connection with corresponding electrical contacts on the detachable cuff portion.

The glove body portion may have a plurality of electrical contacts, each electrical contact being associated with and electrically connected to one of said electrodes.

The glove may comprise an electrical conductor connecting each electrode to its associated electrical contact.

The electrodes, the electrical conductors and the electrical contacts may comprise a surface coating on said glove body portion. The surface coating may be applied by printing. Alternatively the surface coating may be applied by bonding or adhesion.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a glove of an apparatus according to the present invention;

Figure 2 illustrates the glove of Figure 1;

Figures 3 and 4 illustrate the glove of Figure 1 with the cuff removed;

Figure 5 illustrates the apparatus according to the present invention and a selection of massage tools which may be used with the apparatus of the invention;

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a rechargeable transformer unit used with the apparatus of the present invention;

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the electrical cabling of the apparatus of the present invention;

Figure 8 shows the apparatus of the present invention in use in a custom uniform that incorporates wiring for the technology;

Figure 9 illustrates a glove of an apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 10 illustrates the glove of Figure 9;

Figure 11 illustrates the glove of Figure 9 with the cuff removed;

Figure 12 illustrates a wearable component comprising two thimbles of an apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 13 shows the connection of the thimbles of Figure 12 to a cuff of the apparatus of the present invention;

Figures 14 and 15 illustrate the wearable component of Figure 12 with the detachable cuff.

Detailed Description of the Embodiments

Referring to Figures 1 to 5 there is shown a wearable component of an apparatus for providing microcurrent stimulation to an area of a body. The wearable component is a glove 10. The glove 10 includes a glove body portion 30 of a rubber material, for example nitrile or latex, which can be disposable, and a reusable cuff portion 32, described below. The glove 10 includes a number of electrodes 12,14,16. In the illustrated example there are three electrodes, a first electrode 12 on the thumb 18 of the glove, a second electrode 14 on the first finger 20 of the glove and a third electrode 16 on the fourth finger 22 and side 24 of the glove. The electrodes 12,14, 16 are each connected by electrical conductors 26 to contact portions 28 on the wrist portion 30 of the glove. The contact portions 28 are visible in Figures 3 and 4, which shows the glove with the cuff portion 32 removed. The electrodes 12,14,16, the electrical conductors 26 and the contact portions 28 are all formed by printing conductive ink on the surface of the glove body portion 30. A suitable conductive ink is TPU03 conductive elastic screen ink sold by International Imaging Materials, Inc. of Amherst, New York, USA, but any other suitable conductive ink may be used. The electrodes 12,14,16, the electrical conductors 26 and the contact portions 28 may be formed by any other appropriate means, for example by bonding a conductive foil to the surface of the glove or by bonding electrodes and contact portions of any conductive material to the surface of the glove and connecting the electrodes and contact portions by wires or any other electrical connectors.

The cuff portion 32 is shown in Figures 1 and 2. It is formed as a removable band which can be fixed to the glove body portion 30 by any suitable means, for example hook and loop fasteners or press studs. Typically the cuff portion 32 is of composite construction, with a fabric band and a flexible printed circuit board (PCB) thereon. The fabric band may be of thermoplastic rubber or any suitable material. The cuff portion 32 includes on its lower surface a number of contact portions (not shown) equal to the number of contact portions 28 on the glove body portion 30, and positioned so that when the removable cuff portion 32 is secured around the wrist portion of the glove body portion 32, the contact portions on the cuff portion are aligned with the contact portions 28 on the glove body portion 30, so that electrical contact is made between the electrodes 12,14,16 and the cuff portion 32. The cuff portion 32 and glove body portion 30 may be provided with markings to aid alignment. Any other suitable method of aligning the contact portions on the cuff portion 32 and the glove body contact portions 28 may be used, for example a semirigid layer (not shown) bonded to the glove body portion 30 which projects from the surface of the glove body portion and engages with a corresponding recess provided on the underside of the cuff portion 32.

On the upper surface of the cuff portion 32 is a control interface, in the form of a control panel 34. In the illustrated example the control panel comprises a press control or touch control 36, which is adapted to control a switching controller (not shown) in response to a touch input from an operator. The switching controller is provided in an integrated control circuit in the control panel 34, and controls which of the three electrodes receives an electric current from the electrical power source 50, described below.

The control interface or control panel 34 also includes a display panel 38 adapted to indicate to which electrode the electric current is being delivered. In the illustrated example the display panel 38 comprises three graphic symbols which each have a corresponding LED or other source of illumination (not shown]. Each graphic symbol shows schematically one of the three electrodes 12,14,16, and when the corresponding LED is illuminated this indicates to the operator that the corresponding electrode has an electric current delivered to it.

The three electrodes 12,14,16 are disposed on different areas of the glove 10, so that in use the operator can select which electrode should be used in MENS treatment. The operator can select the appropriate electrode by repeatedly pressing the touch control 36 to toggle through a plurality of states, for example a first state in which the thumb electrode 12 is live, i.e. has current delivered to it, a second state in which the first finger electrode 14 is live, a third state in which the side electrode 16 is live, and a fourth state in which all three electrodes are off, i.e. no electrode has current delivered to it. Other states are possible, for example a state in which two or more of the electrodes are live.

Although the invention has been described with reference to three electrodes 12, 14,16, it is to be understood that the apparatus could have only two electrodes on the glove 10, or could have four or more electrodes on different areas of the glove 10.

Attached to the cuff portion 32 is a cable 40 which is connected to an electrical power source 50, shown in Figure 5. In use, as seen in Figure 5, the operator wears a glove 10 on each hand. Each glove is connected by its associated cable 40 to the electrical power source 50, so that the switching controller in the control panel 34 can be used by the operator to selectively deliver an electric current from the electrical power source 50 to the required electrode 12,14,16. The electrical power source 50 includes two terminals, so that current can flow from the first terminal along the first cable 40 to the first glove 10 on one hand of the operator, through the patient or person being treated, to the second glove 10 on the other hand of the operator and along the second cable 40 to the second terminal, or vice versa.

The operator can use the control panel 34 as described above to select which electrode in each glove should be active. This allows the operator to apply the microcurrent to the person being treated in a variety of different ways, reducing the risk of RSI, and allowing the microcurrent to be applied by simple touching of the glove on the person being treated, reducing stress for the person being treated. Of course, if desired, the apparatus of the invention can be used with electrically conductive massage tools 60 of the sort illustrated in Figure 5. To use a massage tool 50 the operator selects the thumb electrode 12 to be active, and grasps the tool 50. As long as the thumb electrode 12 remains in contact with the tool 50, the tool can function as an electrode.

The electrical power source 50 in the illustrated example is a wearable transformer unit 62, as shown in Figures 6 and 7. It can be worn in an arm strap 64 or belt clip 66 or in any suitable receptacle, for example a pocket. In one example, the transformer unit 62 includes a rechargeable battery pack 68, which can be removed for recharging or can be charged in situ, in any suitable manner. In one example the cables 40 are secured to a shirt clip 70, as illustrated in Figure 7, and electrically connected to a common multicore cable 72 which is then connected to the transformer unit 62. Figure 8 shows the operator using an apparatus according to the invention with a transformer unit 62 held by an arm strap 64 on the arm of the operator.

If required the electrical power source 50 can be provided as part of the glove 10 or cuff portion 32. This eliminates the need for cables 40, but makes the glove 10 heavier. A rechargeable battery can be integrated into the control panel 34.

In another alternative embodiment the control panel 34 can be wireless, so that it can be positioned independently of the wearable components such as gloves 10. Electronic communication with the switching controller in the wearable component can be by Bluetooth (RTM) or other wireless technology. In this case the rechargeable battery and a wireless signal receiver are integrated in the glove body portion or cuff portion.

Figures 9 to 11 illustrate another embodiment of the invention, which differs from the embodiment of Figures 1 to 4 in that the wearable component comprises a washable glove 110 which is worn by the operator over a standard disposable rubber glove 112 which insulates the operator from the electrodes 12,14,16 on the washable glove. The washable glove 110 may be woven, or knitted or otherwise fabricated from any suitable fabric or material. In this embodiment the electrodes 12,14,16 may be woven into the fabric of the washable glove 110, or may be applied as a surface layer by bonding, adhesive, stitching or any suitable method. The conductors 26 may also be woven into the fabric of the glove, or be applied as a surface layer, or be in the form of electrical cables secured at one end to the electrode and at the other end to conducting studs 114, which engage with corresponding fasteners (not shown) on the cuff portion 32 to create an electrical contact between the glove 110 and the cuff portion 32. The conducting studs 114 may be seen in Figure 11, which shows the glove 110 before the removable cuff portion 32 is secured around the wrist portion of the glove. In other aspects the embodiment is similar to that of Figures 1 to 4, and may include the alternatives envisaged in the embodiment of Figures 1 to 4, so is not further described.

Figures 12 to 15 illustrate yet another embodiment of the invention, which differs from the embodiment of Figures 1 to 4 in that the wearable component comprises a set of thimble units 210 which are worn by the operator over a standard disposable rubber glove 212 which insulates the operator from the electrodes 212, 214, 216 on the thimble units 210. The thimble units 210 may be of silicone or other suitable flexible insulating material. In this embodiment the electrodes 12,14,16 may be applied as a surface layer by bonding, adhesive, stitching or any suitable method, or may be formed by moulding a conductive material, such as a conductive silicone, into the thimble units 210. Each thimble unit 210 has an integral conductor 226, which is connected by a loop at its end to a conducting metal stud 228 on the cuff portion 32, to create an electrical contact between each thimble unit 210 and the cuff portion 32. The conducting studs 228 may be seen in Figure 13, which shows one thimble unit 210 connected by its integral conductor 226, with the remaining thimble units not yet connected to their corresponding studs 228. The thimble units may have any suitable shape, and are not limited to the shapes shown in the Figures. Each wearable component can comprise any number of thimble units 210. In the example of Figure 15 the thimble unit 210 around the fourth finger includes a strap portion 230 which extends around the wrist, and an elongated side portion 232 to provide an electrode 16 which extends along the side of the operator’s hand. In other aspects the embodiment is similar to that of Figures 1 to 4, and may include the alternatives envisaged in the embodiment of Figures 1 to 4, so is not further described.

It will be understood that the present invention has been described in its preferred embodiment and can be modified in many different ways without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An apparatus for providing microcurrent stimulation to an area of a body, the apparatus comprising an electrical power source, first and second gloves each adapted to be worn on an operator’s hand, and a switching controller, wherein each glove includes at least a first electrode and a second electrode disposed on different areas of the glove and electrical connection means connecting each glove to the electrical power source and adapted to deliver an electric current from the electrical power source to the electrodes, and wherein the switching controller is adapted to deliver an electric current from the electrical power source selectively to the first electrode or to the second electrode of the first glove through a person being treated and selectively to the first electrode or to the second electrode of the second glove.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus includes a control interface, adapted to control the switching controller in response to a touch input from an operator.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control interface includes a display panel adapted to indicate to which of the first and second electrodes the switching controller is adapted to deliver an electric current.

4. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein each glove includes at least first, second and third electrodes disposed on different areas of the glove and electrical connection means adapted to deliver an electric current from the electrical power source to the electrodes, and wherein the switching controller is adapted to selectively deliver an electric current from the electrical power source to one of the said electrodes.

5. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus comprises first and second switching controllers associated with the first and second gloves respectively, wherein each switching controller is adapted to selectively deliver an electric current from the electrical power source to the first electrode or to the second electrode of its associated glove.

6. The apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the switching controller is provided on one of the gloves.

7. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein each glove includes a control interface, adapted to control the switching controller in response to a touch input from an operator, and wherein the control interface includes a display panel adapted to indicate to which electrode the switching controller is adapted to deliver an electric current.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein each glove comprises a glove body portion and a detachable cuff portion, wherein the control interface and display panel are provided on the detachable cuff portion of the glove, and wherein the glove body portion includes electrical contacts adapted to make an electrical connection with corresponding electrical contacts on the detachable cuff portion.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the glove body portion has a plurality of electrical contacts, each electrical contact being associated with and electrically connected to one of said electrodes.

10. The apparatus according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the glove body portion is a disposable rubber glove.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein each glove comprises an electrical conductor connecting each electrode to its associated electrical contact, and wherein the electrodes, the electrical conductors and the electrical contacts comprise a surface coating on said glove body portion.