When you start to have unexplained symptoms or chronic pain, you want to get to the root cause and have answers as quickly as possible.
At the Ayer Neuroscience Institute, we use state-of-the-art neurodiagnostic tests and advanced technology to determine the cause of your symptoms and base your treatment on an analysis of integrated results.
Here are some of the most common neurodiagnostic tests prescribed by physicians for Ayer patients:
- An EEG (electroencephalogram) is a test that measures and records the electrical activity of your brain. Special sensors called electrodes are attached to your head and send information to a computer. The computer records your brain's electrical activity. Changes from the normal pattern of electrical activity can show certain conditions, such as seizures. Routine EEGs can be performed both on an inpatient and outpatient basis. Sometimes a patient will leave the hospital with an ambulatory EEG, which monitors you at home.
- A Continuous EEG (cEEG) monitors the electrical activity of a person’s brain for a longer period in order to assess and monitor for unexplained fluctuations in consciousness, infectious and metabolic encephalopathy (chemical imbalance that affects the brain), seizures, and clinical events. This is also a helpful diagnostic tool for real-time detection and recording of sedation levels and non-convulsive status (NCSE) which can assist in expedited treatment and better outcomes for the patient.
- A Surgical EEG (sEEG) is another type of continuous EEG involving a minimally invasive procedure with electrodes placed directly into targeted areas of the brain to identify where the seizure is coming from. Finding the specific area of the brain where the seizure is coming from can lead to various surgical options that could decrease the amount of seizures a person has or possibly lead to no longer having seizures.
- A Transcranial Doppler (TCD) uses sound waves to measure the velocity of blood flow through major blood vessels in the brain. It is used to monitor narrow sections of blood vessels, detect clots or stroke, and monitor vasospasm related to subarachnoid hemorrhage (narrowing of the arteries in the brain after a bleed).
- Electromyogram (EMG) measures the electrical activity of muscles when they're at rest and when they're being used. Nerve Conduction Studies measure how well and how fast the nerves can send electrical signals. If you have leg pain or numbness, you may have these tests to find out which nerves are being affected and how much they are affected. These tests check to see how well your spinal nerves are working. They also check the nerves in your arms and legs.
- A Nerve Ultrasound in combination with an EMG is used to detect carpal tunnel syndrome, nerve injuries and inflammation, cysts, and tumors. It is also used to guide needle injections (such as Botox) to very specific areas.
- An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) is a test that uses a magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy to make pictures of organs and structures inside the body. An MRI gives different information about structures in the body than can be seen with an X-ray, ultrasound, or computed tomography (CT) scan. MRI also may show problems that cannot be seen with other imaging methods.
- SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography) is a test that uses a special type of camera and a tracer (a radioactive substance in liquid form) to look at organs or bones in the body. It can be used to evaluate brain conditions. These may include Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia, Parkinson's, transient ischemic attack (TIA), and stroke. It can also be used to find out what's causing seizures, including for epilepsy.
- Wada Testing determines which side of your brain your language and memory abilities are located. This helps your care team do their best to protect those areas, known as the eloquent cortex. The goal is to prevent complications with your speech, short-term memory and long-term memory should further, more invasive treatments be needed.
- fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) measures the small fluctuations in blood flow that happen with brain activity. It is used to determine the effects of a stroke or other disease and to help your doctor guide your treatment. fMRI is capable of detecting abnormalities inside the brain that other imaging techniques cannot detect.
- PET (Positron Emission Tomography) is a test that uses a special type of camera and a tracer (radioactive substance) to look at organs in the body. PET studies the brain's blood flow and metabolic activity. A PET scan can help a doctor find nervous system problems, such as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, transient ischemic attack (TIA), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Huntington's disease, stroke, and schizophrenia. It can also find changes in the brain that may cause epilepsy.
- A Polysomnogram test records several body functions during sleep, such as brain activity, eye movement, oxygen, and carbon dioxide blood levels, heart rate and rhythm, breathing rate and rhythm, the flow of air through your mouth and nose, snoring, body muscle movements, and chest and belly movement to detect sleep disorders.
- Genetic Testing checks the DNA of your cells. It can find changes in your genes or chromosomes that may cause a genetic illness. The results may tell you about your ancestry, your health, or your risk for certain diseases.
- Your doctor may suggest Cognitive Testing to determine whether you have any issues with cognition. While it does not diagnose cognitive issues, it can help your doctor figure out if you need additional testing or if there are any cognitive issues that need to be addressed.