Computer Program for Determining and Visually Indicating Demyelinated Pathways

Background:

In order to determine the amount of nerve damage in cases of acute and chronic demyelinating peripheral neuropathies, patients are subjected to nerve conduction studies which involve nerve responses to electrical stimulation between the knee and ankle and/or between the elbow and wrist. However, it is the proximal peripheral nerve conducting pathways which are most often implicated as initial pathophysiological targets. Methods of directly assessing conduction in proximal pathways include excitation with percutaneous high-voltage or direct needle stimulation -- which is invasive and very painful -- or using a magnetic coil (MC) for paravertebral neuromagnetic stimulation over the lower lumbar and sacral spine -- which is both non-invasive and nearly painless. Neuromagnetic stimulation of proximal conducting pathways can be very useful for measuring and identifying the presence of peripheral neuropathy. Identifying the presence of demyelinating vs non-demyelinating (i.e. axonal) peripheral neuropathy can be important, as the demyelinating form can often be treated, although at great expense and sometimes with significant side effects.

Technology Overview:

A SUNY Downstate scientist has created a non-transitory computer-readable medium, with computer-executable instructions, that can trigger a linked device -- or a processor operating within a computing device -- to perform operations such as receiving multiple compound muscle action potential values (CMAPs), where each CMAP is an onset latency, a peak latency, a conduction velocity, or a response amplitude measured from a baseline. For each of the CMAPs and for each of a number parameters calculated from the CMAPs, it can do the following:

• determine a corresponding demyelinating boundary value using a normal value from a preselected population
• determine whether each of the CMAPs and each of the parameters exceeds the corresponding demyelinating boundary value
• determine one or more demyelinated nerve pathways based on which of the CMAPs and the parameters exceeds the corresponding demyelinating boundary value
• indicate on a display which of the CMAPs and the parameters exceed the corresponding demyelinating boundary value
• display, in pictorial form, an anatomical diagram indicating the demyelinated nerve pathways.
  
  
  
  

  Intellectual Property Summary:

  Patented US10492717B2
  
  

  Licensing Status:

  This technology is available for licensing.

  Licensing Potential:

  Commercial partner, Licensing