Neural monitoring system

摘要

A neural monitoring system for determining a proximity between a stimulator and a nerve within an intracorporeal treatment area of a human subject includes a stimulator, a mechanical sensor, and a receiver. The stimulator is configured to extend within the intracorporeal treatment area and to provide an electrical stimulus therein. The mechanical sensor is configured to be placed in mechanical communication with the muscle and to generate a mechanomyography output signal corresponding to a sensed mechanical movement of the muscle. The receiver is configured to: receive the mechanomyography output signal from the mechanical sensor; receive an indication of a magnitude of the provided intracorporeal stimulus; determine a magnitude of acceleration of the muscle from the received mechanomyography output signal; and determine a proximity between the stimulator and the nerve from the magnitude of the provided intracorporeal stimulus and the magnitude of acceleration of the muscle.

主权项

1. A neural monitoring system for determining a distance between a stimulator and a nerve within an intracorporeal treatment area of a human subject, with the nerve innervating a muscle, the neural monitoring system comprising:
a stimulator configured to extend within the intracorporeal treatment area and to provide an electrical stimulus therein; a mechanical sensor configured to be placed in mechanical communication with the muscle and to generate a mechanomyography output signal corresponding to a sensed mechanical movement of the muscle; and a processor configured to:
receive the mechanomyography output signal from the mechanical sensor;receive an indication of a magnitude of the provided intracorporeal stimulus;determine a magnitude of acceleration of the muscle from the received mechanomyography output signal;determine a distance between the stimulator and the nerve from the magnitude of the provided intracorporeal stimulus and the magnitude of acceleration of the muscle;wherein the processor is configured to determine the distance by selecting a distance value from a lookup table stored in a memory associated with the processor; andwherein the lookup table provides the distance value as a function of both a variable intracorporeal stimulus and a variable magnitude of acceleration of the muscle.