Axon-II
Physician Support  |  Contact Us





HOME


LEARN MORE


STUDIES


NEWS


SOFTWARE


PURCHASE
Call Us at 1-800-766-0884

Identify the Source of Pain
with Statistical Sensitivity Approaching 100%


Axon-II +95%
Physical Exam 62%
EMG/NCV (14.5% false positive) 29%
Patient Symptoms 50%

"Pain is Now America's Leading Public Health Problem."
"76 Million in US have chronic pain. Over 50% of back surgeries fail."
"Over 40% of patients seek medical help because they are in pain."

Video: About Small Pain Fiber NCS
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7


HOW IT WORKS - CERTIFICATION - STUDIES - REIMBURSEMENT

Axon-II Nerve Conduction Study sensory exam How It Works: Axon-II Physiology

Conventional EMG (electrical muscle graph) cannot test the nerves causing pain, which is the reason why 40% of patients seek medical help. Only 2% of pain patients have motor nerve symptoms for which EMG is effective. Massachusetts General Hospital Handbook of Pain Management 2005 "EMG/NCV cannot test small pain fibers." "In MOST cases (over 50%) of neck and back pain the anatomic and physiologic diagnosis remains unclear." Neurological Text by Weiner & Goetz Lippinott 2005 "EMG/NCV in the absence of motor symptoms, such as muscle weakness, is costly, time consuming and seldom benefits the patient.

This is the reason 43% of pain patients become chronic and 50% to 80% of back surgeries end in failures. The medical literature does not support that symptoms, physical exams, EMG/NCV or MRI can detect which nerve is causing pain. Only the AXON-II tests pain fibers!

GUYTON & HALL EXPLAIN HOW PAIN GETS REFERRED

At least 50% of patients misdirect doctors away from the source of pain due to referred symptoms. Over 90% of A-delta fibers reach the sensory cortex so they should allow the patient to exactly localization of the source of pain, but injury causes A-delta fiber to become numb. However, the poor localizing C-Type fiber keep functioning and can even up-regulate. The result is that 50% of patients are so confused they may even localize pain as coming from the opposite side. Guyton states; "This explains why so many patients have serious difficulty localizing the source of pain."

The AXON-II detects down-regulated A-delta function to locate injured nerve(s) with statistical sensitivity approaching 100%. The patented electrical signal selectively stimulates A-delta fibers. The highest amplitude causing an action potential indicates pathology. A potentiometer verifies firing by detecting the action potential. Since the patient is his own control, independent of age or gender and population variables, the sensitivity is as high as is possible. High potentiometer amplitudes have been reported to have a close correlation with high VAS ratings. The AXON-II can also test C and A-beta fibers, which is useful when RSD or sympathetically mediated pain syndrome is suspected.

Certification

AMA and Medicare guidelines allow any physician to perform and supervise electrodiagnostic examinations. We encourage Axon-II users to become certified and include certification cost through the Academy of Sensory Electrodiagnostic Medicine, the diagnostic branch of the American Association of Sensory Electrodiagnostic Medicine, a nationally recognized organization offering CME credit. The AASM board is composed of prominent physicians from various specialties, including past directors of pain management at Johns Hopkins and LSU, and a present director of Pain Management for Kaiser Permanente.

Studies

Studies increasingly are being published and presented at scientific meetings. Recently, the Axon-II helped researchers detect a relationship between chronic prostatitis and vulvadynia with S1 radiculopathy. (Baddrodoja, Bush et al) See News & Events and Studies.

Reimbursement

CPT code 95904 procedure consists of the two components for both AMA and Medicare guidelines. (1) Electrical stimulation near a sensory nerve. (2) Measure a component of the action potential at a distant site. This code covers all types of sensory nerve, including the A-beta, A-delta and C-Type fibers.

Localizing Injury Site

In the spinal cord A-delta fibers synapse with ventral motor nerves, so fire generates voltage directly from the A-delta fibers and sub-threshold voltage from the motor fibers. In minutes a nurse can test all the major nerves and their branches in a region - 18 (9 bilateral) in the cervical and 14 (7 bilateral) in the lumbar region. The nerve(s) requiring the highest voltage to fire identifies the injured nerve(s). Once the injured nerve is identified, testing proximal and distal to a suspected site of injury easily verifies the location.

For example; testing above and below the medial elbow detects cubital tunnel entrapment. Comparing median nerve branches in the fingers with the radial nerve (back of the hand) allows differentiation between carpal tunnel entrapment and nerve root pathology since the median and radial nerves originate from the same nerve roots, C6-7. The palmar branches of the median and ulnar nerve pass over the wrist, not through the carpal tunnel or Guyon's canal respectively, so palmar sites differentiate between proximal and wrist entrapments. The same differentiation is at works in the lower extremity where, like the cervical study, all the lumbosacral sites are proximal to sites of entrapment in the ankle. Any branch of a cutaneous nerve can be tested to map the dysfunctional area.




PURCHASE




Axon-II Comes With:

  • Analysis & Report Software
  • 3 year Limited Warranty
  • Certification Cost
  • AASM-ASEM Membership
  • Unlimited Phone / Fax Support
  • Disposable Electrode Cost Less than 70 cents per patient.

    Contact us for a FREE DVD.

    For lease/purchase options call us at (800) 766-0884 or send us an email.


  • FEATURES

    CRPS/RSD - SMP
    Because the Axon-II tests the small pain fibers it can help detect signs of sympathetic dysfunction with pain caused by an otherwise innocuous stimulus. The minimum voltage intensity causing A-delta firing is normally painless, but in these patients the sensation may be painful suggesting sympathetic dysfunction.

    Fibromyalgia
    In a study the Axon-II revealed pre-DRG pathology in many of these patients. Ten were available for one-year follow-up and all ten were free of all fibromyalgia symptoms.

    Double Objective Proof
    Pre-DRG pathology has been reported to correlate with abnormal vertebral motion as viewed on A-P lateral bending x-ray. This may be due to diminished sensory proprioceptive input affecting spinal motor function. The Axon-II has been reported in one study to be "a valuable aide in piriformis muscle syndrome diagnosis".

    WORKSHOP

    American Association of Sensory Electrodiagnostic Medicine Certification Workshop on small-pain-fiber NCS featuring the Axon-II - The only Electrodiagnostic Test for Class III (small-pain) fiber pathology.

    STUDIES

    Axon-II test documents very early median neuropathy in a patient who could not tolerate NCV/EMG...

    Axon-II test reveals unexpected peripheral neuropathy in addition to documentation of cervical (nerve root) pathology...

    Axon-II is a valuable aide in piriformis muscle syndrome diagnosis...

    Download a PDF file containing the "Predicting Nerve Root Pathology With Voltage-actuated Sensory Nerve Conduction Threshold" study from The Internet Journal of Anesthesiology.

    More Information



    Sole Distributor and Manufacturer:  PainDx, Inc. - Axon-IITM NCSs SystemTM
    PHONE: 1-800-766-0884  -  E-MAIL: email@nervepathology.com

    Home  |  Learn More  |  Studies  |  News  |  Software  |  Warnings  |  Physician Support  |  Contact Us  |  Purchase

    This website is not for general public use. It is meant for physician reference only.
    Nothing presented is meant to represent or imply use other than the FDA Indication and usage.

    FDA Indications and Usage: The Axon-IITM NCSs is a diagnostic device that allows the quantitative detection of various sensory neurological impairments caused by various pathological conditions or toxic substance exposures. The subject population for whom this device can be used for diagnostic purposes includes any individual capable of communicating the perception of cutaneous sensation (with the potentiometer, which has a separate FDA clearance, the test is not dependent on the subject reporting perception of the cutaneous sensation, since the action potential of the nerve firing is detectable by the potentiometer). The Axon-IITM NCSs diagnostic examination may be conducted as part the neurological examination or for screening to detect peripheral neuropathies.

    Legal Notice

    DOCUMENTS

    PainDx, Incorporated. gives permission to use documents on this web site provided that:
    1. The PainDx, Inc. copyright appears in copies and a permission notice appear, © 2010 PainDx, Inc.

    2. Documents from this site are for informational and non-commercial or personal use only. Such will not be copied or posted to any network computer or broadcast or published in any media or method now or hereafter developed, and

    3. No modification of any document is made and no unauthorized purpose is prohibited by law. Violation may result in civil and/or criminal penalties.
    Materials do not use the design or layout of the website.

    INFORMATION ON PAINDX, INCORPORATED'S WEBSITE INCLUDING SPECIFICATIONS, APPEARANCE AND APPLICABILITY MAY BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. NO REPRESENTATIONS IS MADE OR IMPLIED AS TO THE SUITABILITY OF THE INFORMATION ON THIS SITE FOR ANY PURPOSE. THE FULL CONTENTS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. ANY TYPE OF RISK WHICH MAY ARISE OUT OF USE OF THIS INFORMATION REMAINS WITH THE RECIPIENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL PAINDX, INCORPORATED BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE OR OTHER DAMAGES (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION), EVEN IF PAINDX, INCORPORATED HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

    TRADEMARK NOTICE

    All trademarks displayed on this website are subject to the U.S. trademark law, which support that any unauthorized use of trademarks is strictly prohibited.

    Copyright © 2010 PainDx, Inc. - Axon-IITM NCSs SystemTM  All Rights Reserved.