Apparatus for intraoperative neural monitoring

An intraoperative neural monitoring system comprising

• a power source;
• a stimulator powered by said power source to deliver electrical stimulation for application to anatomical tissue, said stimulator being capable of delivering said electrical stimulation as a complete cycle of biphasic electrical stimulation having a first group of one or more positive or negative pulses followed by a second group of one or more pulses of opposite polarity to said pulses of said first group;
• and
• an activator for said stimulator actuatable by a user of said intraoperative neural monitoring system completing performance of a multi-step manual actuation procedure with said activator to start delivery of said first group of pulses, said stimulator delivering said complete cycle of biphasic electrical stimulation in its entirety in response to actuation of said activator to start delivery of said first group of pulses;
• wherein said stimulator is alternatively capable of delivering said electrical stimulation as a complete cycle of monophasic electrical stimulation having one or more positive or negative pulses, and further including a mode selector for said stimulator operable by a user of said intraoperative neural monitoring system, prior to actuation of said activator, to select said complete cycle of biphasic electrical stimulation for delivery by said stimulator and to alternatively select said complete cycle of monophasic electrical stimulation for delivery by said stimulator, said activator being alternatively actuatable by a user of said intraoperative neural monitoring system completing performance of said multi-step manual actuation procedure with said activator to alternatively start delivery of said complete cycle of monophasic electrical stimulation, said stimulator delivering said complete cycle of monophasic electrical stimulation in its entirety in response to actuation of said activator to start delivery of said complete cycle of monophasic electrical stimulation.

An intraoperative neural monitoring system comprising

• a power console providing a power source and a display screen;
• a patient interface unit electrically connectible to said power console, said patient interface unit being connectible to monitoring electrodes placed at areas of a patient's body to detect responses to a first form of electrical stimulation and a second form of electrical stimulation for display on said display screen, said patient interface unit being connectible to monopolar and bipolar stimulating probes for applying said first form of electrical stimulation to anatomical tissue of the patient, said patient interface unit delivering said first form of electrical stimulation up to a current amplitude of about 30 mA;
• a stimulator electrically connectible to said power console, said stimulator being connectible to a pair of stimulating electrodes placed at areas of a patient's body for applying said second form of electrical stimulation to anatomical tissue of the patient, said stimulator delivering said second form of electrical stimulation to a first one of the stimulating electrodes for return via a second one of the stimulating electrodes in a positive phase for said second form of electrical stimulation and delivering said second form of electrical stimulation to the second one of the stimulating electrodes for return via the first one of the stimulating electrodes in a negative phase for said second form of electrical stimulation, said stimulator delivering said second form of electrical stimulation up to a current amplitude of about 200 mA;
• an activator for said stimulator actuatable by a user of said intraoperative neural monitoring system to start delivery of said second form of electrical stimulation from said stimulator;
• and
• a mode selector for said stimulator having a plurality of mode settings alternatively selectable by a user of said intraoperative neural monitoring system to set said stimulator, prior to actuation of said activator, to deliver a finite cycle of said second form of electrical stimulation in a mode corresponding to the selected mode setting, said mode selector having a positive monophasic mode setting to set said stimulator to delivery a finite cycle of said second form of electrical stimulation in a positive monophasic mode having a selected number of pulses all of said positive phase, a negative monophasic mode setting to set said stimulator to deliver a finite cycle of said second form of electrical stimulation in a negative monophasic mode having a selected number of pulses all of said negative phase, a positive leading biphasic mode setting to set said stimulator to deliver a finite cycle of said second form of electrical stimulation in a positive leading biphasic mode having a first group of a selected number of pulses all of said positive phase automatically followed by a second group of a selected number of pulses all of said negative phase, and a negative leading biphasic mode setting to set said stimulator to deliver a finite cycle of said second form of electrical stimulation in a negative leading biphasic mode having a first group of a selected number of pulses all of said negative phase automatically followed by a second group of a selected number of pulses all of said positive phase.