Updated Sep 2026
Stage: instrument and ethics package in preparation
National survey of Canadian electromyographers: acceptable waits and preferred appointment types
PI: A. Rathbone · with a medical student trainee
A bilingual cross-sectional survey will ask Canadian electromyographers about maximum acceptable wait times and preferred booking formats by referral presentation. A companion census of the roughly 150 Canadian EMG labs will document actual waits, slot templates and triage methods. A consensus round will follow if the data warrant it. The survey builds on the Western Canada Waiting List Project and Naylor's scenario-based approach.
Looking for
- Societies: endorse the survey.
- Lab directors: forward the survey when it launches.
- Electromyographers: review the draft instrument for face validity before ethics submission. We need six to eight reviewers across provinces.
Participant recruitment has not started. The survey opens only after Queen's Health Sciences Research Ethics Board approval.
Updated Sep 2026
Stage: full-text extraction
Amyloid in carpal tunnel syndrome: systematic review and critical appraisal
With a research associate · PROSPERO CRD420261415724
A registered systematic review examines amyloid prevalence at carpal tunnel release, systemic amyloid in CTS, risk factors and screening strategies (104 studies at full text). A companion critical appraisal examines the Sperry/Donnelly biopsy criteria (poster, Western Canadian Neuromuscular Conference 2026). It argues that the criteria were asserted rather than derived, that the second tier adds no positives, and that no guideline endorses them.
Looking for
- International colleagues interested in geographic differences in yield: Japanese series report roughly three times the tissue-positive rate of North American series, and we would like to write about why.
Updated Sep 2026
Stage: design; grant applications 2026–27
Prospective CTS-amyloid screening pilot, Kingston
A two-phase verification design will run through the Kingston electrodiagnostic lab. It begins with universal cardiac screening during a run-in, followed by versioned, frozen rule-out rules with a random safety audit. The single-centre pilot will assess feasibility and estimate prevalence. Certifying safe withholding will require a multicentre cohort of one to three thousand patients.
Looking for
- Cardiology and nuclear medicine partners: help design the screening pilot.
- Biostatisticians: get in touch about the co-investigator role.
- Future multicentre sites: discuss taking part in the larger cohort.
No patient recruitment yet.
Updated Sep 2026
Stage: narrative review in preparation; study protocol in development
Neuromuscular junction dysfunction in Guillain-Barré recovery
With a research associate
Poster at the Western Canadian Neuromuscular Conference 2026. The proposed study measures decrement and jitter serially during reinnervation. It aims to separate immature-junction physiology from immune injury, with pyridostigmine response as the clinical test.
Looking for
- Potential study sites: discuss joining the multicentre GBS study.