Abstract: An electrode and connector are detachably connected to one another for use in defibrillating or pacing a patient's heart. The connector includes two jaw members which clamp over a tab portion of the electrode. The jaw members include electrical contacts which engage and contact the conductive sheet within the electrode. This provides electrical continuity from the electrode through the connector to a lead wire.

Abstract: The present invention comprises a flexible planar sheet having perimetric edges, the sheet being formed from a plurality of multi-fiber carbon filaments. The sheet is coated with a first solution of biodegradable polymer dissolved in a solvent, and the solvent is permitted to evaporate thereby leaving a first film of biodegradable polymer on the flexible sheet member. A second solution is applied to the sheet and contains a biodegradable polymer dissolved in a solvent, the concentration by weight of the polymer with respect to the solvent being greater in the second solution than in the first solution. When the solvent of the second solution evaporates it leaves a second film of biodegradable polymer on the planar sheet adjacent to the perimetric edges thereof. An alternative method of applying the polymer to the sheet is to lay polymer strips on the sheet and to apply heat to those polymer strips.