INI Specialty Centers

INI Balance Center

The Balance Center at the INI provides an evaluation of patients with posture and gait disturbances, vertigo and dizziness that originate from problems of the inner ear or brain. The Center provides testing in balance disorders including a Micromedical Vestibular Unit equipped with a computerized rotary chair for comprehensive vestibular and balance evaluation. The Center also provides a full spectrum of treatments, including the Proprio Unit, for rehabilitation of patients with balance disorders.

INI Brain Tumor Center

The INI Brain Tumor Center provides comprehensive care for patients with brain tumors, benign or malignant. Each patient's case is reviewed in a multidisciplinary fashion by brain tumor neurosurgeons, radiation oncologists, oncologists, neuropathologists, stereotactic radiosurgeons, and in some patients, ENT and craniofacial plastic surgeons before treatment begins. The Center has a large NIH brain tumor research program lead by Dr. Jasti Rao in his University of Illinois College of Medicine laboratories. The INI Tumor Center also engages in multiple national clinical trials in chemotherapy and radiotherapy, assuring the most up-to-date treatment in complex problems.

INI Cerebrovascular and Stroke Center

The INI has been an innovator in stroke care at the U of I College of Medicine at Peoria since 1972. Dr. David Wang began developing our stroke program in 1996, and started the largest stroke network in the US involving 26 regional hospitals. Under his leadership the Stroke Center also became the first Primary Stroke Center to be JCAHO certified in Illinois in 2004. Utilizing stroke neurologists, neurosurgeons, and interventional neuroradiologists, the latest stroke treatments are offered including intravenous and intra-arterial t-PA, intra-arterial thrombectomy, aneurysm coiling, embolization, and microsurgery of aneurysm and arteriovenous malformations. With multiple specialties, multidisciplinary care is available 24/7/52. Our research programs have conducted over 40 clinical trials providing continuous data collection and process improvement measures to ensure excellence in stroke care.

The Cerebrovascular Center provides a multidisciplinary approach to many complex problems involving blood vessels of the brain and spinal cord, utilizing a team of vascular neurologists, cerebrovascular neurosurgeons, interventional neuroradiologists, stereotactic radiosurgeons, and radiation oncologists. Every patient's case is reviewed at a conference involving these specialists for a unified plan of care before beginning treatment.

INI Epilepsy Center

The Epilepsy Center includes a multi-specialized team of epilepsy neurologists, neurosurgeons, psychologists, and neuroradiologists to evaluate and treat complex seizure disorders. The INI Epilepsy Monitoring Unit provides inpatient video-EEG monitoring with detailed brain mapping techniques including sphenoidal electrodes, intracranial subdural electrodes, and cortical mapping when needed to pinpoint the exact location of a problem and allow very precise surgical treatment. In addition to all medical managements including clinical trials, a full spectrum of surgical treatments including VNS, corpus callosotomy, temporal lobectomy, selective amygdalohippocampectomy, and extra-temporal tailored resections are performed by the neurosurgical staff. Perfexion^TM Gamma Knife® Radiosurgery is also available to selected patients who are not candidates for temporal lobectomy. All surgical candidates are reviewed in the multidisciplinary Epilepsy surgery conference prior to surgical recommendation.

INI Medical Psychology

The INI has a staff of PhD neuropsycologists who participate in programs involving stroke, multiple sclerosis, dementia, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, and memory disorders. Patient evaluation is provided and treatment programs are recommended and implemented. These professionals also provide essential supportive social work as needed.

INI Movement Disorder Center

The INI provides patient evaluation and treatment of movement disorders, including Dystonia, essential tremor, and Parkinson's disease at the Movement Disorder Center. Specialists provide medical management, Botulinum injections for Dystonia, and Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) for movement disorders, with post-surgical programming and continued medical management.

INI Multiple Sclerosis Center

The Multiple Sclerosis Clinic earned their Center status from the MS Society in January, 2007 after demonstrating excellence in care and ongoing research programs. The Center has five neurologists with specialized training in multiple sclerosis, neuro-immunology, and neuro-ophthalmology. The Center offers all current treatments for Multiple Sclerosis including an infusion center. Multiple clinical research trials can offer qualified patients cutting edge innovative treatment. All diagnostic studies are available including 3 T MRI and Ocular Coherence Tomography (OCT), a new method for assessing retinal nerve fibers in visual problems of MS. Our MS Center offers social work, psychology, and an extensive outpatient rehabilitation facility to provide the best diagnostic and medical treatment available.

INI Neuromuscular Center

Our specialized neuromuscular neurologists provide a Muscular Dystrophy Association Clinic and a Myasthenia Gravis Clinic. The Center also evaluates and cares for patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. diagnosis and treatment of the full spectrum of neuropathies is provided, including Guillaine-Barre syndrome, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy and hereditary neuropathies. A neuropathologist participates in the evaluation of patients requiring nerve or muscle biopsy. EMG is provided for both common problems such as carpal and cubital tunnel, as well as, complex muscle and nerve problems.

INI Neuro-Ophthalmology Center

The Neuro-Ophthalmology Center is staffed by two neuro-ophthalmologists and a technical staff. The Center evaluates and treats visual disorders related to non-surgical retinal disorders, optic nerve and chiasm disorders and brain illness causing visual loss. Common disorders seen are pituitary and optic nerve tumors, optic neuritis, anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, migraine, multiple sclerosis, strabismus, eye movement disorders, and stroke. A number of active clinical research trials are available.

INI Neuropathology

The extensive programs in the INI require comprehensive neuropathology. We provide pathological evaluation of brain tumor specimens, spinal cord, pituitary, and nerve and muscle problems, using light microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy as needed. Molecular and genetic studies are sent to referral laboratories as appropriate. Frozen tissue samples are preserved for research purposes in the Tumor Bank of the U of I College of Medicine at Peoria. An active research program in brain tumor and Alzheimer disease is ongoing in collaboration with other investigators in the University.

INI Neuroradiology

Our Neuroradiology Department has an outstanding program in neurological imaging and interventional techniques. A wide range of diagnostic tools are available. Computerized tomography (CT) offers very rapid evaluation of stroke, trauma, and subarachnoid hemorrhage. CT angiography and CT perfusion studies allow non-invasive evaluation of brain blood vessels and brain blood flow. Cerebral angiography is done by experienced interventional neuroradiologists guiding a catheter into very small brain or spinal blood vessels for imaging. Two advanced bi-plane flat panel digital angiography rooms with rotational angiography are available for these complex studies. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is available to provide very precise pictures of the brain. High field 3T MRI is available to study brain function and pathways to assist in brain tumor and epilepsy surgery.

INI Pediatric Neurosurgery and Neurology

The INI developed pediatric neurosurgical care very early, providing the first specialized clinic in the Downstate area for children with spina bifida and comprehensive care for children with hydrocephalous. The INI has the only board-certified pediatric neurosurgeon in the Downstate specializing in the care of children with neurological conditions. All surgery is done in the Children's Hospital of Illinois which has 127 beds and over 75 pediatric subspecialties. Monthly multidisciplinary craniofacial, spina bifida, and spasticity clinics are offered. The pediatric brain tumor program is provided in cooperation with the pediatric oncology staff of the St. Jude's Midwest Affiliate. Easter Seals, located on campus, facilitates a spasticity program. The Pediatric Neurosurgery Section offers third ventriculostomy, CSF shunting, selective dorsal rhizotomy, Baclofen pump, craniofacial reconstruction and pediatric plastic surgery, brain tumor surgery, surgery for neural tube defects, and Level 1 Trauma care for complex children's head and spine injuries.

Pediatric neurology is provided through the Pediatric and Neurology Departments of the University of Illinois in the Children's Hospital of Illinois by three child neurologists and a nurse practitioner, working closely with child psychiatry, developmental pediatrics, pediatric rehabilitation, and neuroradiology. The staff provides care for seizure disorders, stroke, headache, attention deficit disorder, developmental delay, tics and Tourette's syndrome, and other children's neurological problems.

INI Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

As early as 1991, we acquired the highest level of accreditation awarded to rehabilitation centers by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Services (CARF) including accreditation for Stroke Specialty programs. Our 26 bed specialized rehabilitation unit is adjacent to the other inpatient facilities of the INI. We offer three hours or more per day of comprehensive rehabilitation care to patients with a wide variety of neurological conditions, including stroke, head and spinal injuries, brain tumor, and other acute neurological illness. A large team of physical therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, speech therapists, and others provide assistance in recovery from major neurological illness.

The INI has extensive outpatient programs at multiple sites in the metropolitan area, allowing continued treatment at convenient locations. Specialty programs are offered in TMJ, headache and migraine, balance rehabilitation, aquatic therapy, urinary incontinence, industrial rehabilitation, and lymphedema.

INI Pituitary Center

The Pituitary Center provides multidisciplinary evaluation of conditions of the pituitary gland and the full spectrum of current therapy including minimally invasive endoscopic surgical treatment of pituitary tumors and Gamma Knife® Perfexion^TM radiosurgery. Hormonal status is evaluated by the pituitary endocrinologist, visual function by the neuro-ophthalmologist, surgery by ENT surgeon and a neurosurgeon with extensive experience in endoscopic pituitary surgery, and pathological evaluation by a neuropathologist experienced in pituitary tumor evaluation. The INI has an active Gamma Knife treatment program for pituitary tumors.

INI Radiosurgery Center

The INI Radiosurgery program began in 1992 with a Varian linear accelerator. The Gamma Knife was installed in 2000 and replaced with the most current model, the Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion^TM in February, 2008. Radiosurgery offers a non-invasive alternative to open brain surgery and is appropriate for some patients with brain tumor, arteriovenous malformation, and trigeminal neuralgia. It very accurately pinpoints a target in the brain with 190 Cobalt -60 radiation sources. It permits deliverance of high dose radiation to the identified target with remarkably little radiation to adjacent structures, greatly enhancing the safety of treatment, because each single beam is a low dose, but the point of convergence has the effect of all 190 beams. This treatment is directed by a radiation oncologist, a neurosurgeon, and a medical physicist, all with many years of experience in radiosurgery. The Gamma Knife® Perfexion^TM has greatly enhanced the treatment of cancer patients with lesions in their brain, allowing treatment in a single session and specifically targeting the tumors requiring treatment with the most precise machine available in the world.

The INI has an active program in spinal radiosurgery, treating largely metastatic tumors of the spine non-invasively in a single treatment or several treatments. This is accomplished with a Trilogy^TM RapidArc Varian Linear Accelerator, one of the most powerful linear accelerators available. Once positioned, the treatment can be delivered in as little as 2-3 minutes, greatly enhancing the comfort of patients with painful spinal cord tumors. This often avoids prolonged multi-day treatments.

INI Sleep Center

The INI Sleep Center has offered comprehensive care to patients of all ages with sleep disorders since it's opening in 2000, providing 6 beds in the 6th floor diagnostic center and 4 beds at the OSF Morton Health Center. The Center is staffed by two neurologists specializing in sleep disorders and four sleep nurse practitioners. The Center offers office evaluation and comprehensive sleep testing in adults and children.

INI Spine Institute

The Spine Institute offers a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of spinal disorders. Since many problems respond to non-surgical treatments, we offer physical therapy, medications, interventional procedures, as well as, minimally invasive and complex surgical approaches.
The neurosurgical practice utilizes a pre-appointment evaluation process for patients with spinal disorders. This allows the neurosurgeon to review the patient's spinal history and diagnostic images, render an opinion within a few days of referral, and direct them to the most appropriate treatment option. Registered nurses with specialized training in spine management follow the patients during their conservative treatments. Our program offers treatment for the entire spectrum of complex spinal conditions: spinal deformity, spinal tumors, adult spina bifida, and complex degenerative disc disease. Disc replacement, deformity correction, tumor resection, and minimally invasive surgeries are available. In addition to six neurosurgeons for spine neurosurgery, the specialized team includes physical medicine, neuroradiology, interventional neuroradiology, radiosurgical neurosurgery, radiation oncology, plastic surgery, oncology, pain anesthesiology, and neuropathology. This team provides the selection of the best treatment to complex problems.

Our spine surgery staff participates in national and international conferences and is involved in the training of other surgeons in national courses, including published papers and textbooks that other surgeons use. They do research in spinal cord injury, disc replacement, spine tumor treatment, and bone graft replacements.