Electrosurgical electrode

Claim 1

An electrosurgical body electrode comprising: a resiliently stretchable base cover sheet having a first, outer surface and a second, inner surface; a thin, flexible, electrically conductive metal plate having its first major surface disposed adjacent the inner surface of said base cover sheet, and its second major surface disposed away therefrom, said metal plate having a degree of free movement relative to said cover sheet; a thin, substantially uniform, dielectric layer overlying the entire first major surface and the perimetric edge portion only of the second major surface of said conductive metal plate; first and second spaced apart, discrete adhesive sections provided, respectively, on the inner surface of said cover sheet and on said dielectric layer located on the second major surface of said conductive metal plate for releasably attaching said electrode to a patient's body skin with the second major surface of the conductive metal plate presented towards the patient's body and the first major surface thereof presented away from the patient's body, with said cover sheet in an elastically stretched condition; electrical connection means electrically connected to said conductive metal plate and accessible for electrical connection when the body electrode is secured to a patient's body; a stretch indicator comprising an item on said metal plate visible from the outer surface of said cover sheet and indicia on the outer surface of said cover sheet and movable therewith on resilient stretching of the cover sheet, said item and said indicia being put into visible predetermined registry with one another when the cover sheet is correctly resiliently stretched.