Patent ID: 8439845

Claim:
A non-surgically implantable method for measuring a bulbocavernosus reflex, comprising: a probe a patient contacting portion configured for being brought into contact with a predetermined body area of a patient with sufficient force for inducing, via a mechanical stimulation of the predetermined body area from the force, a reflex of bulbocavernosus muscle, said probe comprising; (i) a housing with a bore there through, said housing containing a piezoelectric disk, said disk electrically connected to an amplifier and activated by a power source; (iii) a patient contacting portion comprises stimulus plunger having first and second ends and having a shaft that extends through the bore, said shaft being movable along a longitudinal axis and having an expanded portion that prevents the stimulus plunger from sliding our of an opening in the housing; and (iii) a compression spring that biases said second end of the stimulus plunger away from contact with the piezoelectric disk; wherein the patient contacting portion is configured to activate, during the contact, the piezoelectric disk in the probe resulting in a signal response that identifies when an onset of the contact of the predetermined body area occurs; wherein the signal response is used in identifying a subsequent collection of electrical responses from a plurality of electrodes placed on the patient's skin, wherein the collection is indicative of the bulbocavernosus muscle reflex or an absence thereof; wherein the placed plurality of electrodes are spaced apart from each of: (i) an additional electrode for supplying a voltage to the patient's skin, and (ii) the predetermined body area contacted by the patient contacting portion for inducing the bulbocavernosus muscle reflex; wherein one or more characteristics of the electrical responses in the collection provide information about the bulbocavernosus muscle reflex; wherein the characteristics are determined using at least one of (a) through (d) following: (a) a time delay between the response and the collection are output with information, (b) a time duration for the collection, (c) a value indicative of a magnitude of at least one electrical response of the collection, and (d) a voltage differential between the electrical responses of the collection and a voltage indicative of the bulbocavernosus muscle substantially at rest.