From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Used to measure the force produced by a muscle
An
acceleromyograph
is a
piezoelectric
myograph
, used to measure the force produced by a
muscle
after it has undergone nerve stimulation. Acceleromyographs may be used, during anaesthesia when muscle relaxants are administered, to measure the depth of neuromuscular blockade and to assess adequacy of recovery from these agents at the end of surgery. Acceleromyography is classified as quantitative
neuromuscular monitoring
.
[
citation needed
]
Rationale
[
edit
]
Patients who undergo anesthesia may receive a drug that
paralyzes
muscles, facilitating endotracheal intubation and improving operating conditions for the surgeon. Longer-acting drugs have higher prevalence of residual blockade in the
PACU
or
ICU
than shorter acting drugs. Different clinical tests to measure or exclude evidence of residual
muscle weakness
have been described but cannot exclude
postoperative residual curarization
.
[1]
Small degrees of muscle blockade can only accurately be measured by the use of quantitative neuromuscular monitoring. Specifically, the observer cannot reliably measure muscular fade when
train-of-four
ratios are between 0.4 and 0.9.
[2]
Acceleromyograph design
[
edit
]
Acceleromyographs measure muscle activity using a miniature
piezoelectric transducer
that is attached to the stimulated muscle. A voltage is created when the muscle accelerates and that acceleration is proportion to force of contraction. The mass of the piezoelectric transducer is known and the acceleration is measured therefore the force can be calculated, (
Force
=
mass
×
acceleration
). Acceleromyographs are more costly than the more common twitch monitors, but have been shown to better alleviate residual blockade and associated symptoms of muscle weakness, and to improve overall quality of recovery.
[
citation needed
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]