Key Procedures

Overview

Distinguished teams of super-specialists and fully trained support staff at BRAINS use state-of-the art technologies and procedures in the diagnosis, treatment and management of neurological disorders. The equipment and procedures available at this centre of advanced neuro-care are the best and the latest in the business of brain and spine repair. Here are some of them…

CT scan

For a CT scan, you’ll would have to lie on a narrow table that slides into a small chamber. X-rays pass through your brain from various angles, and a computer uses this information to create cross-sectional images (slices) of your brain. It’s currently used chiefly to rule out tumours, strokes and head injuries.

MRI

Uses radio waves and a strong magnetic field to produce detailed images of your brain. You lie on a narrow table that slides into a tube-shaped MRI machine, which makes loud banging noises while it produces images. MRIs are currently used primarily to rule out other conditions that may account for cognitive symptoms.

Neurosonology

This is a point-of-care ultrasonography procedure that enables neurologists to obtain real time images at bed side and correlate them with a patient’s signs and symptoms. It is also referred to as ultrasound stethoscope. Neurosonology includes carotid vertebral Doppler, transcranial Doppler and peripheral nerve and muscle sonography.

Awake brain surgery

Also called awake craniotomy, this involves sedation and localized anaesthesia to block out any pain. During the procedure the doctor will place your head in a fixed position to keep it still and ensure accuracy. He will then remove part of your skull to reach your brain. The patient would be awake during most of the surgery, but sedated and asleep while parts of his skull are being removed in the beginning of the surgery and put back at the end of the surgery.

Operative microscopes

An operating microscope is an optical microscope specifically designed to be used in a surgical setting, typically to perform microsurgery. Design features of an operating microscope are: magnification typically in the range from 4x-40x, components that are easy to sterilize or disinfect in order to ensure cross-infection control. Equipped with a binocular head with adjustable eye pieces and foot controls to allow freedom of arm movement, it illuminates and magnifies the deeper parts of the operating field.

Neuro navigator

A computer-assisted technology used by neurosurgeons to “navigate” within the confines of the skull or vertebral column during surgery. Recognised as the next big revolutionary step in stereotactic surgery, neuronavigation provides intraoperative orientation to the surgeon helps in planning a precise surgical approach to the targeted lesions and defines the surrounding neurovascular structures. In combination with functional data from functional MRI and magnetoencephalography (MEG), neuronavigation helps to avoid the eloquent areas of the brain during surgery.

Intra operative electrophysiological monitoring

Intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring (IONM) or intraoperative neuromonitoring is the use of electrophysiological methods such as electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), and evokes potentials to monitor the functional integrity of certain neural structures like nerves, the spinal cord and parts of the brain during surgery. The purpose of IONM is to reduce the risk of nervous system damage, and/or to provide functional guidance to the surgeon and anaesthesiologist. When the affected nerve is exposed during surgery, very sensitive electrical testing can be performed, which helps guide the surgeon. This testing is not possible through the skin before the surgery.

Oximetry

This test monitors and records your blood oxygen level while you’re asleep and can be used as a screening test for obstructive sleep apnea. If you have obstructive sleep apnea, the results of this test will often show drops in your blood oxygen level during apneas and subsequently rises with awakenings. If the study reveals temporary drops in oxygen compatible with obstructive sleep apnea, a polysomnogram may follow to formally diagnose obstructive sleep apnea and determine appropriate therapy.