Under the skin: Study on the first long-term EEG detector for epileptic seizures
The sensor is implanted directly under the scalp and is expected to function for at least one year / This makes objective long-term analysis of epilepsy possible for the first time
In future, a new sensor technology should make it possible to measure and document epileptic seizures over a long period of time. A study now underway at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg is testing the reliability and precision of the implant, which is placed directly under the scalp on the skull bone. The implant consists of a thin and flexible electroencephalography electrode and a transmitter unit. It is intended to automatically document the time, location and brain activity during an epileptic seizure over a period of one year. In addition to the Medical Center - University of Freiburg, the Mayo Clinic Arizona and the University of Philadelphia, both in the USA, are involved in the study. In Freiburg, 15 patients are to be fitted with the new device and the first have already received the implant.
"The objective recording of epileptic seizures over longer periods of time is a technology of the future. It could fundamentally improve diagnostics and thus the treatment of epilepsy patients," says Prof. Dr. Andreas Schulze-Bonhage, Head of the Department of Pre-Surgical Epilepsy Diagnostics - Epilepsy Center at the Department of Neurosurgery at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg. The data is read out every three months during check-ups at the hospital.
Sensor could save hospital stays
Until now, physicians and patients have had two main ways of monitoring their condition: an electroencephalogram, or EEG for short, can be used to measure brain activity. However, this technique requires a stay in hospital, sometimes several times. It is time-consuming and can only record a small time window of hours or days. Patients often keep a seizure diary at home, which in turn cannot be used to record the brain activity itself. Because patients are often unable to remember a seizure, these records have so far been incomplete. "The objective recording of such forgotten seizures can help physicians to obtain a more realistic picture of seizure control - and thus better manage therapy and make socio-medical decisions, such as whether the patient is fit to drive a car," says Schulze-Bonhage.
During the study funded by the Danish manufacturer, the sensor technology is now being used in parallel with regular EEG examinations and a seizure diary. This will allow the techniques to be compared afterwards. "With the new technology, we would no longer have to rely on a seizure taking place during hospitalization in order to evaluate it. This would be of particular benefit to all those patients whose epilepsy limits their everyday life but whose seizures occur at longer intervals," says Schulze-Bonhage. The implants will be used by experts led by Prof. Dr. Volker A. Coenen from the Department of Neurosurgery at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg's Department of Stereotactic Neurosurgery.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Andreas Schulze-Bonhage
Head of the Department of Pre-Surgical Epilepsy Diagnostics - Epilepsy Center
Department of Neurosurgery
Uniklinik Freiburg
Phone: 0761 270-54250
andreas.schulze-bonhage@uniklinik-freiburg.de
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