Nerve Mapping System Using Electrical Stimulation and Muscle Reaction Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Minimally invasive back surgery poses a risk of nerve damage due to the invisibility of nerves during procedures, necessitating a method to accurately map nerve locations in three dimensions to avoid damage.
Innovation Solution
A system and method using stimulation electrodes to detect muscle reactions and calculate distances, with a mapping module overlaying nerve locations on patient anatomy images, allowing for precise nerve mapping in three dimensions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If minimally invasive surgical methods are used, then surgical trauma and recovery time are reduced, but the risk of nerve damage increases due to inability to visualize nerves
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary nerve mapping system that includes stimulation electrodes, detection modules, and imaging integration. This intermediary system indirectly visualizes nerves by detecting muscle reactions to electrical stimulation, allowing surgeons to navigate around nerves without direct visualization, thus maintaining minimally invasive benefits while reducing nerve damage risk.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical visual inspection method with an electrical field-based detection system. Instead of relying on optical visualization (mechanical/light system), the system uses electrical stimulation and electromagnetic field detection to locate nerves, enabling safe minimally invasive surgery without direct visual contact with nerve structures.
2Measurement precision
If electrical stimulation is applied to detect nerve locations, then nerve mapping precision is improved, but the complexity of the surgical system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates multiple functions into a single unified system: the stimulation electrodes serve both as diagnostic tools for nerve mapping and as reference points for surgical navigation. The imaging system is adapted to display both anatomical structures and mapped nerve locations, allowing one system to perform multiple functions (visualization, mapping, and guidance) rather than requiring separate dedicated devices for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the nerve mapping system with the existing surgical imaging system. The mapping module integrates with the imaging display to overlay nerve locations on anatomical images, merging two separate systems (stimulation/detection and imaging) into a coordinated unified platform that reduces overall system complexity while maintaining high measurement precision.
3Reliability
If three-dimensional nerve mapping is implemented, then surgical safety is improved, but the time required for preoperative planning increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs nerve mapping during the surgical procedure itself rather than requiring separate preoperative mapping sessions. The stimulation electrodes are positioned and nerve locations are mapped in real-time as part of the surgical workflow, eliminating the need for time-consuming preoperative planning while ensuring accurate, patient-specific nerve localization at the moment of surgery.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent maintains continuous real-time monitoring and mapping during surgery. The system continuously detects muscle reactions and updates nerve location information throughout the procedure, providing ongoing safety guidance rather than a single static preoperative map. This continuous action ensures surgical safety without requiring extended preparation time, as the mapping occurs concurrently with the surgical intervention.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables safe navigation around nerves during surgery by providing a three-dimensional view of nerve locations, reducing the risk of damage and improving surgical precision.
Implementation Method 1
stimulating a nerve with an electrical stimulation current from an electrical source
Implementation Method 2
an electromyograph that detects an electrical potential generated by a muscle cell
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for mapping the location of a nerve. The apparatus includes at least one stimulation module, a stimulation detection module, a distance module, and a mapping module. The stimulation module stimulates a nerve with an electrical stimulation current from at least one stimulation electrode. A stimulation detection module detects a muscle reaction resulting from stimulation of the nerve by the at least one stimulation electrode. The distance module uses information from the at least one stimulation electrode and from the stimulation detection module to calculate a distance between the at least one stimulation electrode and the nerve. The mapping module maps a location on the nerve using at least two distances calculated by the distance module and position information of the at least one stimulation electrode for each of the at least two distances calculated.