Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 13, 2026
Performing In Vivo and Ex Vivo Electrical Impedance Myography in Rodents
Published on: June 8, 2022
Electrical impedance myography in the diagnosis of radiculopathy
Andrew J Spieker1, Pushpa Narayanaswami, Laura Fleming
1Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, USA.
Introduction:
We sought to determine whether electrical impedance myography (EIM) could serve as a diagnostic procedure for evaluation of radiculopathy.
Methods:
Twenty-seven patients with clinically and radiologically diagnosed cervical or lumbosacral radiculopathy who met a "gold standard" definition underwent EIM and standard needle electromyography (EMG) of multiple upper or lower extremity muscles.
Results:
EIM reactance values revealed consistent reductions in the radiculopathy-affected myotomal muscles as compared with those on the unaffected side; the degree of asymmetry was associated strongly with the degree of EMG abnormality (P < 0.001). EIM had a sensitivity of 64.5% and a specificity of 77.0%; in comparison, EMG had a sensitivity of 79.7% but a specificity of 69.7%.
Conclusions:
These findings support the potential for EIM to serve as a new non-invasive tool to assist in diagnosis of radiculopathy; however, further refinement of the technique is needed for this specific application.
