Summary of Testing Performed in our Offices

• ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM (EEG)
  --records the electrical activity of the brain. A routine EEG can take up to one hour including hooking up and disconnecting the patient.
• SLEEP ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM (Sleep EEG)
  --the same as an EEG as described above, however, the patient is sleeping/and or sleep deprived. A technician will give instructions as to the amount of time patients are to be sleep deprived prior to testing. Chloral hydrate, a mild sedative to induce sleep is usually given to children prior to testing. A two-hour time slot is allotted for these tests.
• 24-HOUR ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM (24-hour EEG)
  --This test also records the electrical activity of the brain however, the electrodes are kept on for a 24-hour period and the patient's activity is recorded by a digital recorder. The patient then comes back the following day to have the electrodes removed and return the equipment. (This test is performed only at our Staten Island office.)
• ELECTROMYOGRAM (EMG)
  --measures the electrical activity of muscles. Performed by a physician and can take up to 30 minutes.
• NERVE CONDUCTION VELOCITY (NCV)
  --is a test to measure the speed of conduction of impulses through a nerve. Performed by a technician it takes about 15 minutes.
• SOMATOSENSORY EVOKED POTENTIALS (SSEP)
  --performed on the upper and lower extremities. Electrodes are applied to the head and body. The areas are stimulated with surface electrodes to detect if there are any problems in the central nervous system. Each modality takes one hour to test.
• BRAINSTEM AUDITORY EVOKED REPONSE (BAER)
  --tests the nerve pathways along the auditory canal. Electrodes are placed on the scalp and earphones are placed in the ears. A continuous click is applied to the ear being tested with a masking noise applied to the opposite ear. Testing time is approximately one hour.
• VISUAL EVOKED RESPONSE (VER)
  --tests the nerve pathways along the optic nerve. Electrodes are placed on the scalp and the patient is seated in front of a monitor that displays a checkerboard pattern. Patients stare at a fixed object in the center of the screen. Each eye is tested separately. Test time is approximately one hour.
• X RAYS
  --are taken at our Victory Blvd. and Hylan Blvd. Orthopaedic offices and are interpreted by our physicians on-site.