Michael Sather, M.D., surgical director, Penn State Hershey Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, performing open surgery to place subdural electrodes directly on the surface of the brain with the ROSA™ system, which allows for precise placement of the relevant electrodes.
Technological improvements to both testing and treatment have revolutionized the field of epilepsy care in recent years. Clinicians seek to pinpoint the location of seizures to administer more targeted treatment. “There is a growing interest in identifying the seizure focus more precisely and noninvasively,” says Jayant Acharya, M.D., medical director, Penn State Hershey Comprehensive Epilepsy Center of Penn State Hershey Neuroscience Institute.
One example of this breakthrough technology is dense-array EEG, a noninvasive diagnostic technique that records electroencephalography with up to 256 electrodes versus standard techniques that typically employ 19-21 scalp electrodes.1 Past research has shown that information is lost unless EEG sampling provides an intersensor distance of no more than 2 cm, which would require 500 EEG channels distributed evenly over the head.2 This 256-channel sampling technology can approximate adequate spatial sampling and identify the precise area of neurological dysfunction.2 Acharya concludes, “In our setting, the most important feature is that it’s much more sensitive and specific in terms of localizing the seizure focus.” Continue reading
