At this year's Wishlist Spring Carnival, one of the three pieces of medical equipment we are fundraising for, is specialised nerve hyperexcitability testing equipment.
This equipment would allow us to expand our research and give local patients access to advanced testing without needing to travel to Sydney.
It will help improve diagnosis and treatment of nerve and muscle disorders.
Motor Neurone Disease (MND) patient, Charmain Storr shared her story with My Weekly Preview because she wanted to draw attention to our fundraising efforts for this critical piece of equipment.
Sunshine Coast Health director of neurology and stroke, Dr Antony Winkel, said the machine is a game changer.
“It looks at how the nerve cells integrate with the muscles, and how excitable they are to different types of testing,” Dr Winkel said.
“That excitability gives us insight into whether the nerves are healthy or not, and in what way they may be unhealthy, which gives us a very early clue for some medical conditions, like motor neurone disease.
“That takes people out of that limbo, and leveraging that to start doing disease modifying trials earlier in the disease – all those things are giving us the best chance as we head towards a cure for motor neurone disease.”
If you would like to help, make a bid on the Wishlist Spring Carnival Silent Auction site, proudly sponsored by the Sunshine Coast Orthopaedic Group. There is a wide range of products and experiences on offer, with something for everyone! Bidding goes live this Sunday, September 7 at 7am.
