Neurophysiology monitoring system configured for rapid stimulation threshold acquisition
First Claim
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1. A neuromonitoring system for performing multi-channel neurophysiologic assessments, comprising:
- a stimulator configured to deliver at least one electrical stimulation signal to a patient;
at least one sensor adapted to be coupled to a myotome, said sensor configured to detect a neuromuscular response evoked by said electrical stimulation signal;
a control unit in communication with said stimulator and said at least one sensor, said control unit being configured to;
(a) direct transmission of the at least one electrical stimulation signal from said stimulator,(b) receive evoked neuromuscular response data from the sensor,(c) determine a threshold current level on a first channel of said neuromonitoring system, said first channel associated with a first myotome, wherein determining the threshold current level on the first channel includes;
delivering stimulation signals within tissue and monitoring neuromuscular responses on said first channel to determine when said stimulation signals evoke a significant neuromuscular response, wherein said stimulation signals are delivered as a sequence of pulses and wherein a current level of each pulse is adjusted from an immediately preceding pulse until a current level required to evoke a significant neuromuscular response is determined,(d) determine a threshold current level on a second channel of the neuromonitoring device, said second channel associated with a second myotome, wherein determining the threshold current level on the second channel includes;
delivering stimulation signals within tissue and monitoring neuromuscular responses on said second channel to determine when said stimulation signals evoke a significant neuromuscular response wherein said stimulation signals are delivered as a sequence of pulses and wherein a current level of each pulse is adjusted from an immediately preceding pulse until a current level required to evoke said significant neuromuscular response is determined and omitting one or more pulses from the sequence of pulses when a neuromuscular response to the omitted pulse is predictable based upon data obtained while determining the threshold current level of the first channel; and
(e) communicate the threshold current levels to a user.
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Abstract
The present invention relates generally to systems and algorithms aimed at neurophysiology monitoring, and more particularly to a system capable of quickly finding stimulation thresholds over multiple channels of a neurophysiology monitoring system. For example, the neurophysiology monitoring system may be configured to omit stimulation pulses when the neuromuscular response is predictable.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A neuromonitoring system for performing multi-channel neurophysiologic assessments, comprising:
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a stimulator configured to deliver at least one electrical stimulation signal to a patient; at least one sensor adapted to be coupled to a myotome, said sensor configured to detect a neuromuscular response evoked by said electrical stimulation signal; a control unit in communication with said stimulator and said at least one sensor, said control unit being configured to; (a) direct transmission of the at least one electrical stimulation signal from said stimulator, (b) receive evoked neuromuscular response data from the sensor, (c) determine a threshold current level on a first channel of said neuromonitoring system, said first channel associated with a first myotome, wherein determining the threshold current level on the first channel includes;
delivering stimulation signals within tissue and monitoring neuromuscular responses on said first channel to determine when said stimulation signals evoke a significant neuromuscular response, wherein said stimulation signals are delivered as a sequence of pulses and wherein a current level of each pulse is adjusted from an immediately preceding pulse until a current level required to evoke a significant neuromuscular response is determined,(d) determine a threshold current level on a second channel of the neuromonitoring device, said second channel associated with a second myotome, wherein determining the threshold current level on the second channel includes;
delivering stimulation signals within tissue and monitoring neuromuscular responses on said second channel to determine when said stimulation signals evoke a significant neuromuscular response wherein said stimulation signals are delivered as a sequence of pulses and wherein a current level of each pulse is adjusted from an immediately preceding pulse until a current level required to evoke said significant neuromuscular response is determined and omitting one or more pulses from the sequence of pulses when a neuromuscular response to the omitted pulse is predictable based upon data obtained while determining the threshold current level of the first channel; and(e) communicate the threshold current levels to a user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification