December 2008

Evolution of instrumentation

Since the earliest days of chiropractic, chiropractors realized the importance of obtaining objective measurements of various neurological and physiological changes.

The first attempt at chiropractic instrumentation was radiology, a technique discovered the same year as chiropractic itself, 1895. According to the book "Chiropractic: An Illustrated History," BJ Palmer purchased the first radiographic unit from Scheidel-Western X-Ray Coil Company of Chicago in 1910. He installed the massive machine in a building owned by the Palmer School of Chiropractic and began the connection between chiropractic and radiology that has continued to this day.

The x-ray fit perfectly with the concepts of vertebral mal-position correction since it could be shown how the adjustment moved the bone.

BJ Palmer taught, however, that there was far more to a subluxation than a "bone out of place." There was a neurological component that could not be measured by x-ray. That's why Palmer was so interested in the development of the "neurocalometer" by Palmer's Dossa D. Evans, DC in 1924.

Palmer later explained that the Neurocalometer was based on the theory that subluxated vertebrae would cause slight temperature differences on either side of the spine. "When a vertebra is subluxated, it causes pressure on the surrounding tissues of a nerve or a bundle of nerves and this causes resistance to flow of nerve energy. This resistance in turn causes heat at that point, as heat is produced when resistance is added in a circuit carrying electricity," he wrote.

Over the years the Neurocalometer -- and its cousin the Nervo-scope -- were joined by several other chiropractic instruments including weight scales, posture measuring, galvanic skin response measurements and para-spinal thermal devises. Many of these instruments provided information that appeared to have value for chiropractic, but none gained widespread scientific acceptance or provided reliably reproducible results.

The development of the computer triggered a quantum leap in chiropractic instrumentation. Chiropractors were finally able to gather data on a wide range of neurological activity thanks to surface electromyography (sEMG) and para-spinal thermal scans. Over the next decade or so, sEMG instrumentation was considered "cutting edge" and won praise from field doctors as well as researchers.

However, it was quickly noted that even the sEMG -- with all its advantages over its predecessors -- had limitations. By offering a single static view of a single moment in time, it was unable to provide true neurological measurements of dynamic processes. It was better able to demonstrate the existence of a subluxation, but not to indicate the neurological implications, causes and effects of such subluxations.

The next leap in technological development occurred only recently. This "next generation" instrumentation -- the NeuroInfiniti -- can finally address the abnormal neural activity leading to abnormal muscle activity, which, in turn, creates abnormal joint mechanics.

This new instrumentation provides information about neurological function at both the cortex (brain function) and at the Limbic System level (sympathetic/para-sympathetic responses), and is designed to test these over time and situations of stress and recovery.

It is a dynamic test for a dynamic system which deals directly with cause and can demonstrate the ability and power of chiropractic to alter neural function. The instrument was developed by chiropractors to provide research-quality findings and has been used in chiropractic offices for the last four years.

NeuroInfiniti combines EEG, Para-spinal SEMG, Dynamic SEMG, specific SEMG, Hand Temperature, Skin Conductance (GSR), EKG, Respiration belt and Heart Rate Variability sensors. It also includes a complete, computer-driven neurological stress test. It analyzes the state of the nervous system at seven different levels, individually or in combination, either in "live" time or time comparison. It indicates the state of nervous system function as a control, under stress and during recovery.

In short, the NeuroInfiniti demonstrates the power of the adjustment to change the patient's neurophysiological state. It allows DCs to stop following the outdated medical model of diagnosing and treating disease. Instead, it allows them to see the state of imbalance in the nervous system and know when their care is restoring its balance.

Doctors who use the NeuroInfiniti find that the instrument's neurofeedback retraining software functions help improve patient outcome and support a truly neurologically based chiropractic practice. The DC can use this training to enhance his or her effectiveness of care as well. In one unit you will have the ability to analyze your own physiological state and your patient's, and be able to improve your performance as well as your patient's.

No doubt, in the decades to come, the evolution of chiropractic instrumentation will take us even further but, for now, the NeuroInfiniti is the most advanced and scientifically consistent tool available to all chiropractors who are ready for their own "quantum leap" forward!