New device to measure brain activity in everyday life
Published: Wednesday, Jun 19th 2024, 12:00
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A new device enables researchers to monitor the electrical brain activity of certain patients outside of hospital. According to the developers, this could fundamentally change the treatment of epilepsy.
An electroencephalogram, or EEG, can be used to observe and localize the smallest functional disturbances in the brain, as the Inselspital Bern explained in a press release on Wednesday. According to the hospital, this is crucial for understanding and diagnosing epilepsy and plays a central role in planning effective treatment. With conventional EEG devices, however, patients are wired up, which severely restricts their range of movement.
Researchers at Inselspital and the University of Bern, in collaboration with the Wyss Center, have developed a new type of electrode that can be inserted between the scalp and the skull.
Feasibility study with eight patients
In an initial clinical feasibility study, the researchers implanted such electrodes in eight patients. In a one-hour operation, they placed up to 28 electrodes in the test subjects' heads. There were no serious side effects in these eight patients, as the study results published in the journal "Neurology" showed. According to the Inselspital, the system called Epios produced results that are comparable to those of conventional EEGs.
However, tests were only carried out for up to nine days. Further studies will have to show whether the approach is also safe for longer periods of use.
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