Adhesive patches for the attachment of radiofrequency (rf) electromagnetic (em) cup-shaped probe with radiation absorbing material

Abstract

An adhesive patch for attaching at least one EM probe to a subject's body, the adhesive patch comprising a planar member having at least one layer of radiation absorbing material and having at least one opening formed within the radiation absorbing material to allow the propagation of EM radiation via the opening from one side of the planar member to the other. The adhesive patch further comprises at least one layer of an adhesive attached over at least part of a bottom surface of the planar member, which adhesive layer may be applied so as to form a pattern on the bottom surface, the pattern comprising at least one adhesive-covered portion and at least one adhesive-free portion.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An adhesive patch for attaching at least one EM probe to a subject's body, the adhesive patch comprising:
 a planar member comprising at least one layer of radiation absorbing material;   at least one layer of an adhesive attached over at least part of a bottom surface of the planar member; and   at least one opening formed within the at least one layer of radiation absorbing material to allow the propagation of EM radiation via the opening from one side of the planar member to the other.   
     
     
         2 . The adhesive patch of  claim 1 , wherein said radiation absorbing material is selected from the group of materials having at least one of the following:
 a permeability loss tangent of (tan δ=μ″/μ′)>0.01 for all EM radiation frequencies within the range of 100 MHz-5 GHz;   a permittivity loss tangent of (tan δ=ε″/ε′)>0.01 for all EM radiation frequencies within the range of 100 MHz-5 GHz;   a partial conduciveness manifested by a surface resistivity between 20 and 10,000 Ohm per square (Ω/sq); and   a volumetric resistivity greater than 10 −3  Ohm meter (Ωm).   
     
     
         3 . The adhesive patch of  claim 1 , comprising a battery for providing power to an EM probe when the EM probe is attached to the adhesive patch. 
     
     
         4 . The adhesive patch of  claim 1 , comprising at least one mechanical connector for connecting at least one EM probe to the planar member at a position overlapping the opening. 
     
     
         5 . The adhesive patch of  claim 4 , wherein at least one of the at least one mechanical connector is configured for detachably connecting the at least one EM probe to the planar member at a position overlapping the opening. 
     
     
         6 . The adhesive patch of  claim 1 , comprising a cover positioned over the opening, the cover being shaped and sized to receive an EM element. 
     
     
         7 . The adhesive patch of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one layer of adhesive extends below at least one of the at least one opening. 
     
     
         8 . The adhesive patch of  claim 1 , comprising a plurality of openings formed within the at least one layer of radiation absorbing material to allow the propagation of EM radiation via at least a plurality of the plurality of openings from one side of the planar member to the other. 
     
     
         9 . The adhesive patch of  claim 8 , comprising at least one connector for connecting one EM probe to the planar member at a position overlapping at least two of the plurality of openings. 
     
     
         10 . The adhesive patch of  claim 8 , comprising at least one connector for connecting a plurality of EM probes to the planar member. 
     
     
         11 . The adhesive patch of  claim 1 , wherein the adhesive is attached over at least part of a surface covering 70% or less of the patch contact surface. 
     
     
         12 . The adhesive patch of  claim 11 , wherein at least part of the surface of the planar member is an adhesive-free portion. 
     
     
         13 . The adhesive patch of  claim 12 , wherein at least part of the adhesive-free portion is covered by a skin soothing agent. 
     
     
         14 . The adhesive patch of  claim 1 , wherein the patch is configured to be worn for a period of time of 24 hours or longer. 
     
     
         15 . The adhesive patch of  claim 1 , wherein said adhesive is attached to the bottom surface at a pattern comprising at least one adhesive-covered portion and at least one adhesive-free portion, wherein the pattern is such that the adhesive patch may be attached to a surface area at at least a first position and at a second position such that:
 the portion of the surface area that is covered by the at least one opening of the adhesive patch at the first position overlaps the portion of the surface area covered by the opening of the adhesive patch at the second position by at least 30%; and   the portion of the surface area that is covered by the at least one adhesive-covered portion of the adhesive patch at the first position overlaps the portion of the surface area that is covered by the at least one adhesive-covered portion of the adhesive patch at the second position by less than 30%.   
     
     
         16 . The adhesive patch of  claim 14 , wherein the portion of the surface area covered by the adhesive patch at the first position overlaps the portion of the surface area covered by the adhesive patch at the second position by at least 90%. 
     
     
         17 . The adhesive patch of  claim 15 , wherein the patch at the first position is at a first rotational orientation and the patch at the first position is at a second rotational orientation being different from the first rotational orientation. 
     
     
         18 . The adhesive patch of  claim 16 , wherein the first rotation differs from the second rotation by about 180°. 
     
     
         19 . The adhesive patch of  claim 16 , wherein the first rotation differs from the second rotation by about 90°. 
     
     
         20 . The adhesive patch of  claim 14 , wherein the portion of the surface area that is covered by the at least one adhesive-covered portion of the adhesive patch at the first position overlaps the portion of the surface area that is covered by the at least one adhesive-covered portion of the adhesive patch at the second position by less than 10%.