“Threshold-level” multipulse transcranial electrical stimulation of motor cortex for intraoperative monitoring of spinal motor tracts: description of method and comparison to somatosensory evoked potential monitoring

Abstract

This novel method for intraoperative monitoring of spinal motor conduction appears to meet all of the goals outlined above. Although the risk of postoperative motor deficit is relatively low for the majority of spine surgeries (for example, a simple disc), high-risk procedures, such as tumor resection, correction of vascular abnormalities, and correction of major deformities, should benefit from the virtually immediate and accurate knowledge of spinal motor conduction provided by this new monitoring approach.