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Sensory potentials and sural nerve biopsy: A Model evaluation
Author(s) -
Schoonhoven Ruurd,
Schellens Ronald L. L. A.,
Stegeman Dick F.,
GabreëlsFesten Anneke A. W. M.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
muscle and nerve
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1097-4598
pISSN - 0148-639X
DOI - 10.1002/mus.880100309
Subject(s) - sural nerve , nerve fiber , fiber , biopsy , polyneuropathy , anatomy , mathematics , materials science , medicine , surgery , radiology , composite material
Compound action potentials (CAPs) were recorded from the sural nerve prior to nerve biopsy in patients with various kinds of polyneuropathy. A previously developed volume conductor model for the CAP is applied to analyze the recorded CAPs in close relation with the morphological findings in the biopsy. First, the fiber diameter histograms obtained from the biopsy are used to simulate CAPs by assuming a linear relation between fiber diameter and propagation velocity. It is concluded that the simulated CAPs deviate systematically from the recorded CAPs. Next, the assumption of a linear diameter‐velocity relation is left, and the assumed fiber velocity distribution is adapted to obtain optimal model reconstructions of the recorded CAPs. It is concluded that the model is capable of reconstructing the recorded CAPs, including slow components and small polyphasic potentials in the case of severe fiber loss. It is demonstrated how the diameter histogram and the optimal velocity distribution can be combined to an empirical estimate of the diameter‐velocity relation.