Published on June 11, 2012 at 8:05 AM
Nexstim Oy, a medical device company, announced today that the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the NexSpeech®
module for use with the Navigated Brain Stimulation (NBS) System. In
presurgical planning for patients with brain tumors, the NBS System
enables accurate and reliable mapping of the vital motor areas in the
brain. Now, with NexSpeech, cortical areas that do not contain essential
speech function can also be localized.
Neurosurgeons have long awaited accurate and reliable noninvasive tools
for pre-operative planning. Previously, the only reliable techniques
were invasive and required craniotomy. NBS is a major advance for
tailoring neurosurgical treatment to the needs of the individual patient
with a brain tumor. Information from NBS with NexSpeech may help lower
the risk of damage to eloquent cortex, as well as help shorten operating
times. Importantly, using NBS with NexSpeech potentially allows more
patients with brain tumors to benefit from surgery.
With NexSpeech, the NBS System uses navigated repetitive transcranial
magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to temporarily disrupt cortical areas
essential for speech. While the patient names everyday images, a coil is
gently moved over the head and used to give synchronized bursts of
stimuli. Analysis of patient's speech behavior results in a map of
cortical areas vital for speech, displayed in the patient's MRI.
Source: Nexstim