Quantitative somatosensory testing

List of Abbreviations HSAN, Hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathies HSN, Hereditary sensory neuropathies NCS, Nerve conduction studies QST, Quantitative somatosensory testing... 

Quantitative somatosensory testing (QST) uses calibrated tools to assess the function of all the sensory modalities. The smaller caliber nerves are evaluated by measuring pain and temperature (hot and cold) thresholds, and larger caliber nerves are evaluated by measuring the thresholds for perception of vibration, joint position, and touch. This is done by touching the patients skin with stimuli of defined characteristics, such as a computer-controlled probe that can heat or cool to specific temperatures. The effectiveness of QST is limited because it requires subject cooperation and is inherently subjective, as it relies on the reported interpretation of sensory stimulation from the subject. This also influences reproducibility of this sensory test (Fink and Qaklander, 2006). 

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