Diagnostic Tests
Muscle & Nerve Testing
An electromyogram (EMG) is an electrical test of skeletal muscle. There are two aspects of this test: the first is the muscle test, called the EMG. The second tests the nerves – specifically the peripheral motor nerves and the sensory nerves. This test is called a nerve conduction study, or NCS. When someone refers a patient for an EMG, common usage of the term incorporates both tests.
Sleep Testing (home and lab based)
Sleep studies are tests that record the changes occurring in your body while you are asleep. These studies also help in evaluating problems with the stages of sleep including non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM). During sleep, these stages alternate approximately 4 to 5 times throughout the night. Any change in this pattern of sleep may create difficultly in having a restful sleep.
Dizziness & Balance Testing
Computerized test of head and eye movements to evaluate both the high frequency horizontal and vertical vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR). The VOR system stabilizes fixation of the eyes during head rotation by causing the eyes to move in the opposite direction of the head motion.
Memory Testing
The brain is complex. It monitors the state of the body and its environment, controls the body’s motion and also performs many of the higher level cognitive functions that allow us to think, plan, and accomplish the tasks in our daily lives. Cognitive functions are the basis for our activities of daily living and include the ability to shop, talk on the telephone, manage finances, drive, as well as to learn something new. While it is true that most brain functions involve much coordination between different brain regions, we also know that certain brain functions can be tested separately. Neuropsychologists have defined a set of basic cognitive functions that underlie brain wellness.
Cerebrovascular Ultrasound (transcranial Doppler studies)
Transcranial Doppler (TCD) are types of Doppler ultrasonography that measure the velocity of blood flow through the brain's blood vessels by measuring the echoes of ultrasound waves moving transcranially (through the cranium). These modes of medical imaging conduct a spectral analysis of the acoustic signals they receive and can therefore be classified as methods of active acoustocerebrography.
Electromyography and Nerve conduction velocity
Nerves use electrical impulses to coordinate muscle movement in our bodies. Diseases affecting the muscles and nerves can result in abnormal electrical activity.
Electromyography (EMG) and Nerve conduction studies are diagnostic tests used to detect nerve and muscle disorders and to evaluate the functioning of your nerves and muscles. An EMG is designed to record the electrical activity produced by the muscles, during rest and contraction. Nerve conduction studies measure the conductivity of the nerves.
Vestibular Autorotation Test (VAT)
The Vestibular Autorotation Test (VAT) is a computerized test of head and eye movements to evaluate both the high frequency horizontal and vertical vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR).
Polysomnography
Polysomnography is a comprehensive recording of the biophysiological changes that occur during sleep. It is usually performed at night, when most people sleep, though some labs can accommodate shift workers and people with circadian rhythm sleep disorders and do the test at other times of day.
Electronystagmogram
Electronystagmography (ENG) is used to evaluate people with vertigo (a false sense of spinning or motion that can cause dizziness) and certain other disorders that affect hearing and vision. Electrodes are placed at locations above and below the eye to record electrical activity.
Electroencephalogram
An Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a procedure that allows the doctor to detect abnormalities related to electrical activity of the brain. The test monitors the brain activity through the skull. This procedure tracks and records brain wave patterns.
Video Electroencephalogram
The brain’s electrical activity fluctuates from second to second, but routine EEGs provide only a 20- to 40-minute sample of this activity. If epilepsy waves occur in your brain only once every 3 or 4 hours, or if they only happen at certain times of day, a regular EEG might not record them.
Somatosensory Evoked Potentials
Somatosensory Evoked Potential (SSEP) is a test showing the electrical signals of sensation going from the body to the brain. The signals show whether the nerves that connect to the spinal cord are able to send and receive sensory information like pain, temperature, and touch. When ordering electrical tests to diagnose spine problems, SSEP is combined with an electromyogram (EMG), a test of how well the nerve roots leaving the spine are working.
Visual Evoked Potentials
VEP vision test is a painless, safe, non-invasive way for your eye care provider to objectively measure the function of your entire vision system. When light from an image enters your eye, it is turned into electrical energy by cells in the retina – the light-sensitive layer at the back of your eye.
Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potentials
A brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) is an evoked potential caused by an aural stimulus (a sound), usually a series of ‘clicks’. Electrodes positioned on the scalp record responses to the sounds; these are then observed as a reading on an electroencephalogram (EEG). Responses to aural stimuli originate from relay structures within the brainstem.
Carotid Doppler
Carotid ultrasound uses sound waves to produce pictures of the carotid arteries in the neck which carry blood from the heart to the brain. A Doppler ultrasound study – a technique that evaluates blood flow through a blood vessel – is usually part of this exam.
Concussion Testing
Concussion testing evaluates your brain’s processing and thinking (cognitive) function after a head injury. A baseline concussion test may be performed before a sports season starts for athletes at risk of head injuries.
Overnight Sleep Testing
Overnight polysomnograms are used to diagnose a large variety of sleep disorders using a large variety of equipment. Typical sleep disorders diagnosed by a PSG are:
- Sleep-related breathing disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea, central sleep apnea, sleep-related hypoventilation disorders, and more
- Central disorders of hypersomnolence such as narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia.
Home Sleep Testing
Home sleep testing, a home sleep study, can be especially advantageous to the home-bound, elderly, or those with chronic illness, who require specialized care such as a nurse or family member spending the night, expensive transportation costs, etc. It is also beneficial for those with trouble arranging time out of their schedules to spend the night in-lab.
Autonomic Nervous System Testing (ANS)
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) regulates physiologic processes, such as blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, digestion, metabolism, fluid and electrolyte balance, sweating, urination, defecation, sexual response, and other processes. Regulation occurs without conscious control, i.e., autonomously.
*Failure to cancel 24 hours prior to your appointment will result in a $125 billing charge.
