A NONINVASIVE FUNCTIONAL-EVALUATION FOLLOWING PERIPHERAL-NERVE REPAIRWITH ELECTROMYOGRAPHY IN A RAT MODEL

A new bipolar surface electrode array was designed and constructed for a noninvasive ''closed'' functional evaluation with electromyography following sciatic nerve transection in a rat model. This ''closed'' me thod was compared with a conventional one-shot ''open'' measurement. N erve conduction velocity and distal latency were calculated. Data obta ined from the recordings from different animals as well as from the sa me animal at different points in time yielded excellent reproducibilit ies. There is no difference in the mean values whether nerve conductio n velocity and distal latency are obtained by ''closed'' or ''open'' m easurements. Correlation was significant (p < 0.01; gamma(NCV) = 0.77, gamma(DL) = 0.63) between these two methods. The results lead to the conclusion that the noninvasive functional evaluation with the paramet ers of nerve conduction velocity and distal latency introduced in the present study could be employed as a reliable method for serial functi onal evaluations following nerve transection in a long-term study in a rat model.