Significant progress has been made in the use, efficacy, and safety of anesthesia. Yet, clinical means are not currently available to specifically monitor or objectively evaluate the effectiveness of local anesthetics in humans or animals.

Local anesthetics block signals carried in a nerve from the site of pain to the brain, hence the term “neural blockade.” The use of local anesthetics has greatly enhanced the safety and quality of anesthesia for more than a century. Improvements in technique (e.g., nerve stimulation guidance), devices (e.g., needles), and anesthetic agents have also been made. Until now, no routinely used monitor enables the clinician to characterize the effect of the block in the patient.

Introducing the Neural Blockade Monitor

The Neural Blockade Monitor (NBM) enables objective and quantitative measurement of neural blocks as a significant advance for clinical pain management. This capability provides a new and unparalleled means to reduce failed neural blocks, limit anesthetic toxicity, optimize analgesic need, and optimize patient management.