Methods and systems for operating an intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring system in conjunction with electrocautery procedures

A system configured to detect noise causing interference with signals being monitored by an intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) system in electrical communication with a patient, wherein said noise is characterized by frequencies greater than 100 kHz, the system comprising:

• a first circuit comprising an isolated ground plane electrically coupled, through the patient, to an electrosurgical unit in electrical communication with the patient;
• and
• a second circuit comprising a microcontroller, a first signal processing path and a second signal processing path, wherein at least a portion of the second circuit is positioned over the first circuit such that, during operation, a capacitance is formed between the first circuit and the second circuit, wherein the second signal processing path is configured to sample signals transmitted by the first circuit and direct the sample signals through an exponentially weighted variance function, and wherein the system is configured to use at least one of the first signal processing path or the second signal processing path to detect said noise.