Patent ID: 8801626

Claim:
A method of positioning a neural localization device to determine if a nerve is nearby, the method comprising: passing a neural localization device along a first pathway, the neural localization device having a flexible ribbon-shaped body having a first set of electrodes on one face of the ribbon-shaped body and a second set of electrodes on an opposite face of the ribbon-shaped body; energizing a first stimulation region of the neural localization device to emit a stimulation field in a first stimulation direction from the neural localization device; determining a threshold stimulation location along the pathway, wherein the threshold stimulation location corresponds to a position along the pathway having the lowest stimulation level emitted in the first stimulation direction that evokes a response from a target neural tissue; positioning the neural localization device at the threshold stimulation location; determining a threshold stimulation level in a second stimulation direction from the neural localization device while the neural localization device is at the threshold stimulation location; and comparing the stimulation level emitted in the first stimulation direction at the threshold stimulation location to the threshold stimulation level in the second stimulation direction to determine if the target neural tissue is in the first stimulation direction or in the second stimulation direction.