Patient Cleanup:
Remove the cap, ear electrodes, and body harness when the EEG recording is finished. Wipe the patient's forehead and ears with a gauze square. Lightly wipe the gauze square over the hair. Brushing or combing the hair will remove all visual evidence of the gel. The patient's next shampoo will quickly eliminate any residue.
Cleaning the Caps:
- ECI Electro-Caps must be cleaned frequently for sanitary reasons. In addition, if all the gel is not washed from a cap, the material will lose its elasticity; the cap's life will be dramatically shortened.
- Use only Ivory® or Palmolive® liquid detergent for washing ECl Electro-caps. Other soaps and detergents, especially those common in hospitals, leave a residual film on the electrode metal. After a few washings, the soap film builds up and coats the electrode. Excessively high electrode impedances and overwhelming electrode artifacts result.
- The dye from the cap material may bleed during the first few washings. Do not wash different colored caps together.
- Before washing a cap, always unsnap and remove the cap straps. The cap straps are washed separately because the strap material is thick; drying may require several hours. However, cleaning the straps thoroughly with a brush and soapy water once a week is best.
- Do not steam autoclave electro-caps; the process will weaken the elastic material and significantly shorten the life of the caps.
Steps:
1. Unsnap and remove the straps.
2. Fill the sink with lukewarm water.
3. Add a small amount of Ivory® liquid detergent to the water.
4. Submerge only the cap. Do not allow the connector to get wet. Let the cap sit in the water for a few minutes.
5. Clean the gel from the electrode mounts with a cotton swab. Another method is to alternate each mount, in turn, under rapidly running water. The water pressure will force most of the softened gel from the mounts.
6. Rinse the cap thoroughly.
7. Blot the cap gently in a terry cloth towel or hang it up to dry.
*IMPORTANT*
When drying the cap, hang it so it is LOWER than the connector. If the connector is lower than
the cap, water will run down the multicolored cable into the connector. The water will quickly corrode the terminals, and artifacts will result.
8. When the cap is dry, replace the straps. A small hair dryer may also be used to dry a cap quickly. However, use only a "warm" setting. The "high" or "hot" setting on some hair dryers is too hot and will weaken the elastic material; the cap life will be severely shortened.
9. Once a month, scrape the metal electrode disks thoroughly with the wooden end of a cotton swab. Oxide gradually builds up on the electrode disks and should be periodically scraped away.
For further technical assistance with this or any other issue, please contact ADInstruments Technical Support by clicking HERE.