Adauri Bueno de Camargo, MD

My research is primarily focused on developing and validating techniques for intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IOM). The ultimate aim of IOM is to contribute to increase surgical safety and decrease neurological complications during surgical procedures that place the nervous system at risk of injury. IOM helps the surgeon to integrate neurological function and anatomy during the course of surgery, while providing recurrent feedback on the functional status of the pathways being monitored throughout the entire surgery. With the help of IOM, surgeons are able to better customize each procedure to the needs and challenges they face at a given moment during the surgery in order to improve outcomes. One particular area of interest is intraoperative motor evoked potentials (MEP): MEPs acquired under anesthesia have a different behavior and clinical significance from those when the patient is awake and not sedated. Understanding the technical entanglements and limitations to elicit MEP under anesthesia and the clinical significance of those recordings are crucial for IOM validation and safe application. I have played a leading role in the development of this field, both by studying and testing IOM techniques and protocols and by education and training of many professionals in the field. My work has contributed both to basic development and to multifaceted clinical implementations of IOM techniques and technologies. In recent years, my focus has been in promoting validation of techniques commonly used in IOM and improving intraoperative neurophysiological education. For the future, I aim to potential new methods for integrating imaging and IOM for a more dynamic use in intraoperative settings, which will contribute to a more accurate intraoperative mapping of eloquent areas. As faculty also involved in education besides research in the Intraoperative Monitoring Service, in the Department of Neurology, I have actively promoted continuing education and career development for our group of technologists and neurophysiologists.