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Eight specially trained board-certified physicians interpret results and report their findings to your child’s primary physician or specialist.
Our technologists can make special accommodations for any patient to ensure comfort and safety. During testing, children may listen to music and videotapes. We're also equipped to offer sedation when necessary.
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
An EEG records brain waves using highly sensitive monitoring equipment that tracks brain activity through electrodes placed on the scalp. The test, which normally takes 60 to 90 minutes, is not painful. Electrodes will be placed on your child’s scalp with a paste-like substance; no shaving of the head is necessary. During the test your child may be asked to take quick, deep breaths. EEGs help physicians diagnose a broad range of problems, from headaches and dizziness to seizure disorders and strokes.
Sleep-deprived EEG
Your doctor may order an EEG to observe brain activity that occurs while your child is sleeping. You’ll be asked to keep your child awake for most of the night prior to the EEG appointment, and your child may be given a mild sedative before the test to encourage sleep.
Video EEG
With this specialized form of EEG, children are constantly monitored over a video screen. This allows doctors to observe brainwave activity during the time a seizure or spell is occurring.
Electromyography (EMG)
An EMG is a graphic record of the contraction of a muscle in response to electrical stimulation. Also called nerve conduction studies (NCS), the test is performed by placing electrodes over a particular nerve or muscle, which is activated by electrical stimulation.
The test is not painful, but your child will feel a tingling sensation. EMGs help physicians diagnose the cause of numbness, tingling, pain or loss of sensation and neurological disorders that affect the peripheral nervous system. When EMG is used to measure the electrical activity of muscles, one or more needle electrodes is gently inserted into the muscle.
Evoked Potentials (EP)
Evoked potentials help doctors diagnose and evaluate neurological problems, including spinal cord injuries, acoustic neuroma and optic neuritis. The three types of evoked potential tests – visual (VEP), auditory (BAEP) and somatosensory (SSEP) – use light, sound and electrical stimuli to test nerve responses.
Visual Evoked Potentials (VEP)
VEPs evaluate visual nervous system connections between the eyes and the occipital (visual) cortex of the brain. Your child will be asked to watch a visual pattern on a video screen; each eye will be tested separately.
Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potentials (BAEP)
BAEPs evaluate how the nervous system responds to specific sounds. They are used to measure hearing loss in infants, small children and people who are unable to respond to traditional hearing tests. Earphones produce a series of clicks or tones that are used to evaluate each ear separately.
Somatosensory Evoked Potentials (SSEP/SEPM)
SSEPs apply a small electrical current to the skin overlaying nerves on the arms or legs. The test is used to evaluate pathways from nerves in the arms and legs through the spinal cord to the brainstem, or cerebral cortex. The test, which is not painful, will cause a tingling sensation in the area stimulated by electricity.
Neurologists
- Dave Clarke, MD
- Mazen Dimachkie, MD
- Pedro Mancias, MD
- Milvia Pleitez, MD
- Jeremy Slater, MD
- Gage Van Horn, MD
For more information, please call 713-704-1304.
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