Bernard van Niekerk Inc.
Bernard van Niekerk Inc (T/A Bloemfontein Sleep Laboratory & Clinical Neurophysiology) was founded in late 2008 by Bernard van Niekerk.
Bloem Sleeplab (in short) is a clinical technology practice specializing in performing and reporting neurophysiological procedures such as electroencephalography, polysomnography, nerve conduction studies, electromyography, and intraoperative neuromonitoring.
Our team consists of qualified and registered neurophysiologists as well as registered and qualified EEG technicians.
We are situated at Bloemcare Hospital, Mediclinic Bloemfontein, and Mediclinic Hoogland. We are also mobile and conduct tests at various other hospitals.
Services
Electroencephalography
During this procedure, a set of EEG electrodes is placed on the scalp of a patient, and the patient’s cortical brain activity is recorded. This can aid doctors in diagnosis as well as treatment. Mainly three types of EEGs are utilized:
- Long-term EEGs
- Routine EEGs
- Sleep Deprivation EEGs
Polysomnography (AKA Sleep Studies)
With this procedure, the quality of sleep is evaluated by utilizing various biological parameters, including:
- EEG activity (to evaluate sleep)
- Breathing during sleep (monitoring for apnea)
- O2 saturation (drops in oxygen saturation during sleep)
- Lower limb movement (monitoring for periodic limb movement disorder)
- Snoring (upper airway resistance)
- ECG (heart rate variation during sleep)
With these parameters, different sleep disorders or syndromes can be diagnosed and treated, which may include, among others, obstructive sleep apnea, central sleep apnea, parasomnias, periodic limb movement disorder, and insomnia.
Nerve Conduction and/or EMG Studies
The physiological conduction qualities of the peripheral nerves are tested and compared to mean or normal values, which may aid in the diagnosis of various possible nerve diseases or pathologies known as neuropathies. With these results, doctors can also decide on the appropriate treatment.