Sources of off-target effects of vagus nerve stimulation using the helical clinical lead in domestic pigs.

Objective: Clinical data suggest that efficacious vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is limited by side effects such as cough and dyspnea that have stimulation thresholds lower than those for therapeutic outcomes. VNS side effects are putatively caused by activation of nearby muscles within the neck, via direct muscle activation or activation of nerve fibers innervating those muscles. Our goal was to determine the thresholds at which various VNS-evoked effects occur in the domestic pig—an animal model with vagus anatomy similar to human—using the bipolar helical lead deployed clinically.

An Injectable Neural Stimulation Electrode Made from an In-Body Curing Polymer/Metal Composite.

Implanted neural stimulation and recording devices hold vast potential to treat a variety of neurological conditions, but the invasiveness, complexity, and cost of the implantation procedure greatly reduce access to an otherwise promising therapeutic approach. To address this need, a novel electrode that begins as an uncured, flowable prepolymer that can be injected around a neuroanatomical target to minimize surgical manipulation is developed. Referred to as the Injectrode, the electrode conforms to target structures forming an electrically conductive interface which is orders of magnitude less stiff than conventional neuromodulation electrodes.

Intravascular gas as an incidental finding at US after blunt abdominal trauma.

Purpose: To describe the occurrence and importance of intravascular gas at ultrasonography (US) during the initial examination of patients after blunt abdominal trauma.

Materials And Methods: Reports of all abdominal US examinations performed at one institution for blunt trauma from October 1995 through June 1996 were reviewed. The charts of patients with intravascular gas were examined to determine the mechanism of injury, associated findings, and clinical outcome.

Digital tapping of the superficial temporal artery: significance in carotid duplex sonography.

To determine whether tapping on the superficial temporal artery correctly identifies the ECA during carotid sonography, prospective evaluation of the reflection of the temporal tap on the spectral waveform was recorded and graded as 3+, 2+, 1+, or 0 in each ECA, ICA, and CCA, with 3+ being the most brisk response in each carotid system (ipsilateral CCA, ICA, and ECA). The pattern of response was evaluated in patients with and without hemodynamically significant (> than 50% diameter) stenoses in CCA, ICA, and ECA. The most frequent pattern of response to tapping on the superficial temporal artery was 3+ in the ECA, 2+ in the CCA, and 1+ or 0 in the ICA.

A prospective evaluation of abdominal ultrasound in blunt trauma: is it useful?

Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the utility and feasibility of abdominal ultrasound (US) in blunt trauma patients.

Design: This prospective study examined the operational issues and the diagnostic accuracy of US in selected blunt trauma patients triaged to a Level 1 trauma center.

Materials And Methods: All patients were evaluated by an attending trauma surgeon and our usual criteria for objective evaluation of the abdomen were applied.