Prep the Patient

Part of the success of your scan collection comes from an informed and prepared patient. Follow these guidelines:

• Provide your patient with a backless exam gown.
  • Female patients should remove their bras and any neck jewelry.
  • Male patients can use the gown or remove their shirt, loosen their belt, and expose S1. Remove any neck jewellery.
• The neck should be exposed with hair tied back. Tip: Provide a disposable hair elastic or hair clip if needed.
• Clean the patient’s skin with cotton balls dipped in alcohol or alcohol wipe packets, especially in the neck hairline region. This removes dirt and excess oils which can affect conductivity.
• Ensure that:
  • The patient did NOT exercise within 45 minutes of scan.
  • The patient is seated upright on a stool facing away from examiner.
  • Their hip/knee position is 90 degrees.
  • Hands are resting on thighs, palms up.
  • Ask the patient to hold their gaze on a picture or point directly in front of them.
  • Hint: have the scanning screen out of their view as it can distract them.
  • The patient does NOT move and has good, but not rigid posture during exam.
• Be familiar with spinal landmarks: especially S1, L1, T1, T7, C7, C2, C1L and R (fossa).

Prepping Children:

Children can be scanned with the neuroCORE from the ages of 5 and above. Some skilled examiners can accomplish this scan at 3-4 years of age depending on how calmly a patient can sit.

An EMG tests the seated gravitational load and so the patient must sit, without twitching or moving. A scan on a child may be interrupted and restarted if they move unexpectedly. A segment can also be easily rescanned if a poor collection is made.

• A shorter, 9 segment collection is adequate to achieve calculations used in the Children’s CORESCORE. Go to settings > Scan Protocols and create this sequence.
• Consider S1, L3, L1, T10, T6, T3, C7, C5, C2, as the levels chosen (you can choose C1 unilateral as an option for C2).
• You may want to choose unilateral beginning at C5 to accommodate narrow spines.
• Set the sensors to collect approximately ½” – ¾” from the spinous process.
• Scanning a child is the same as an adult except that they exhibit higher activity as a rule. You may want to start the scan using the 50uV or greater range as it allows greater viewing of the red and blue lines. You can change this by touching on the frequency graphs when you are in the performing the scan (Fig. 1)

Fig. 1

Patient checklists are available through INSiGHT Media and are recommended! Click here for more information.