APPARATUS FOR INTRAOPERATIVE NEUROMONITORING OF NERVES IN THE PELVIC REGION OF A PATIENT

摘要

The invention relates to an apparatus for intraoperative neuromonitoring of nerves in the pelvic region of a patient, comprising at least one nerve stimulator (16) which can be introduced into the operating area during an operation, and a sensor device (20) which can be attached to at least one pelvic organ (14; 15) of the patient (13). In order to provide an apparatus of this type, by means of which it is possible to reliably monitor, without a significant delay, the integrity/proper functioning of nerves which act on one or more pelvic organs, i.e. in particular the bladder and/or the rectum, during an operation in the pelvic region of a patient, according to the invention, the sensor device (20) comprises at least two sensing electrodes (23), which can be applied to the pelvic organs (14; 15), and an impedance measuring device (21), which is or can be connected to the sensing electrodes and has a display (22) showing impedance changes in the pelvic organs (14; 15) between the sensing electrodes (23). The stimulation of nerves which are connected to a pelvic organ such as the bladder or the rectum leads to changes in the complex electrical resistance (impedance) in the organ tissues in question, which can act as an indicator of the integrity of a nerve stimulated by the nerve stimulator.