Pittsburgh, April 27, 2000 -- Joseph C. Maroon, MD, vice chairman of the department of neurological surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, presented several papers at the annual meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, held recently in San Francisco.

An internationally recognized authority on minimally invasive surgery to treat lumbar disc disease, Dr. Maroon reviewed the use of laser, endoscopic, percutaneous and microsurgical techniques to treat diseases of the spine. "Approximately 250,000 patients each year have surgery in the United States because of herniated or ruptured discs, and minimally invasive procedures and in particular micro-surgery, are used to treat the majority of these," Dr. Maroon said.

At the meeting he presented the results of a new procedure called intradiscal electrothermography (IDET), which uses a micro-electrode inserted through the skin to relieve pain without the need for an open, more invasive operation. During the procedure patients receive only a local anesthetic.

Dr. Maroon also presented a paper entitled "Neurological Testing in Athletes with Concussions," in which he presented information on the first totally automated computerized system that can be used at the high school and college level to evaluate the severity of concussions in athletes.

It is now possible to assess attention span, memory retention, rapid hand and eye movements, visual speed and processing, and reaction time to 1/1,000th of a second using the new system, he said.

Dr. Maroon and Marc Lowell, M.D., chairman of the department of neuropsychology at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, are pioneers in the development and administration of psychological testing of athletes with concussions. They have developed tests that are now used extensively in the National Football League and the National Hockey League to test athletes prior to the season and immediately after a concussion to evaluate damage and determine when they can return to contact sports.

"Previously, such testing was done with a pen and pencil, was labor intensive and costly. With the new computerized system, high schools and colleges can download a software package and entire teams can be tested quickly, efficiently and accurately. In the event of a concussion, this information can be compared to the baseline study," Dr. Maroon said. "This represents a major advance in the evaluation of athletes with concussions."

The software program is undergoing evaluation at the University of Michigan, the Mayo Clinic and more than 100 high schools throughout the United States.