An integral portion of your clinical neurophysiology training takes place at the Buffalo VA Medical Center, where you’ll care for patients with neuromuscular disorders caused by injuries seldom seen in the civilian population.

During your Electromyography rotations, you’ll train in the VAMC’s EMG laboratory and an outpatient neuromuscular clinic that serves as the preferred referral center for outlying VA primary care clnics.

In the EMG laboratory, you’ll use electrodiagnostic testing to diagnose patients with concussions and penetrating injuries, such as gunshot injuries to the brachial plexus.

In the clinic, you’ll diagnose and provide continuing care for patients with a wide variety of neuropathies, adult-onset phyopathies and neuromuscular junction disorders.

At this training site, you’ll learn to perform needle EMG and nerve conduction. You’ll keep your electroencephalography skills fresh by reading and reporting EEGs with an attending neurophysiologist.

You also will set up and record evoked responses (potentials), with guidance from our highly skilled technician, and will learn to interpret and report these studies.

Clinic areas have examination rooms to evaluate seizures, neuromuscular and sleep disorders, with computers to access imaging studies and medical records and phones that connect to a dictating service.

• 2 copper-cage, radio frequency-shielded EEG rooms for inpatients, outpatients and multiple sleep latency studies
• 2 current-model 20-channel digital EEG machines 
• 4-channel Nicolet Viking EMG machine with software for conventional EMG, H-reflex and nerve conduction testing

• fixed station Nicolet-Viasys digital 20-channel EEG with video recording 
• portable 20-channel digital Viasys-Nicolet 20-channel EEG machine to record EEGs at bedside and in intensive care units
• dedicated room for evoked potential testing  
• four-channel Viasys evoked response machine to record brainstem, visual-evoked and somatosensory responses and dark-adapted electroretinograms
• EMG room with four-channel Alpine Keypoint machine with single fiber, autonomic testing, standard EMG, nerve conduction (NCV) central EMG programs and electronic report writing programs and software
• EMG machines allow for bedside studies in intensive care or surgical intensive care units
• thermal and vibration threshold testing equipment for small fiber neuropathy evaluation (WR Medical Electronics Co.)
• positron emission tomography (PET) scanner 
• 15-seat conference room; 30-seat auditorium
• area for neurophysiology trainees with computer access in EEG reading room
• qualitative sensory testing equipment

• 2 departmental faculty
• neuromuscular specialist
• neurophysiologist
• EEG technician

• chronic disorders due to injuries and aging
• primarily economically disadvantaged