Dr Benny Thomas graduated from the Royal Free Hospital in London in 1987 and subsequently specialised in Clinical Neurophysiology in Cardiff from 1998. He has a wide range of experience in the diagnosis of nerve and muscle disorders and carries out diagnostic tests Electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction studies for the evaluation of neuromuscular disorders like carpal tunnel syndrome, peripheral neuropathy and muscle disorders.

At the University Hospital, another aspect of his work is in the diagnostic evaluation of epilepsy with Electroencephalogram (EEG). He is part of the team that assesses patients for epilepsy surgery.

Clinical neurophysiology provides a diagnostic service for the management of individuals with nerve and muscle disorders in the limbs (the peripheral nervous system as opposed to the central nervous system).

Common conditions evaluated are nerve entrapment at the wrist (carpal tunnel syndrome) or at the elbow (ulnar neuropathy).

Numbness in the feet due to 'nerve ending loss' (peripheral neuropathy) is another common condition.

Muscle disorders that can lead to muscle pain and weakness are also seen regularly in the clinic. The test involves passing a small electrical signal through the nerve and picking up the response by an electrode. The person feels a tiny electrical shock-like sensation which he or she soon gets used to. Muscle evaluation involves inserting a tiny needle electrode into the muscle fibre and picking up the electrical signals produced by the muscle fibres.