Patent ID: 8303516

Claim:
A method of detecting if a nerve is above or below a region of a device in a tissue, the method comprising: positioning a device within the tissue, wherein the device comprises a flexible elongate body having an upper region that is opposite from a lower region, and a first plurality of anodes and cathodes on the upper region and a second plurality of anodes and cathodes on the lower region; determining a threshold amount of energy required to stimulate a response in the patient from the upper region by applying increasing levels of energy to form a substantially continuous broadcast field in the upper region to determine the first stimulation level at which the nerve responds; determining a threshold amount of energy required to stimulate a response in the patient from the lower region by applying increasing levels of energy to form a substantially continuous broadcast field in the lower region to determine the first stimulation level at which the nerve responds; determining if the nerve is above the device or below the device, wherein the nerve is above the device when the nerve is closer to the upper region, by comparing the threshold amounts; and positioning a guidewire within the tissue based on the thresholds determined from the upper and lower regions.