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NIM-Response® Nerve Integrity MonitoringNerve Integrity Monitoring: For Improved Safety and Peace-of-MindDuring minimally invasive or traditional open surgery, Medtronic’s Nerve Integrity Monitor (NIM®) By stimulating and directing all voluntary muscular movement, motor nerves perform a critical function. Cranial motor nerves from the brain control muscles in the head, face, and neck. At times, these nerves are hard to identify during surgery due to disease, a previous operation, or normal anatomical variations. Patients can suffer temporary or permanent damage if a nerve is irritated or injured. For example, during skull-based surgery, the facial nerve is commonly exposed and at risk for injury. Since this nerve controls all movements and expressions of the face, damaging this nerve can have devastating physical and emotional results. Sometimes minor irritation or stretching of the facial nerve can lead to temporary or permanent symptoms of nerve damage, such as facial weakness, numbness, or twitching. Severing the facial nerve, although rare, causes facial paralysis that resembles the effects of a stroke. Similarly, the recurrent laryngeal nerve, a branch of the vagus nerve, is one of the nerves at risk during neck dissections, including thyroid surgery. Damaging this nerve can severely impact an individual’s ability to speak, swallow, and aspirate. Medtronic’s NIM system helps surgeons locate and identify the nerve, monitor and control manipulation effects on the nerve, and confirm nerve integrity prior to completing the surgery.
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system enables surgeons to identify and confirm motor nerve function and monitor major motor nerves throughout the body, such as cranial nerves in a patient’s head, face and neck. If there is a change in nerve function, the NIM system provides visual and audible warnings to alert the surgeon and operating room staff. This helps reduce the risk of nerve damage during surgery, improving safety and peace-of-mind for patients and surgeons.
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