Revolutionary EEG Technology Could Improve Treatment for Epilepsy
2nd November 2022
A study into how cost effective it could be to implement new EEG technology on the NHS has been launched. The study will recruit 33 people with medication resistant epilepsy to trial the small EEG device over a six month period.
The technology itself, which has been developed by Danish company UNEEG medical, is a small device that’s implanted under the scalp in a procedure that takes no longer than 20 minutes and can accurately monitor brainwave activity for up to 15 months.
Currently, healthcare professionals are limited to the data that can be captured for a few days at a time in a hospital environment and it’s believed that through this technology better clinical outcomes and treatments can be prescribed by utilising a much larger pool of data. Through this larger pool of data it’s believed that physicians will be able to drive better clinical outcomes for patients and zero in on the most effective treatment options quicker.
The technology could completely replace the need for seizure diaries, which can be inaccurate and unreliable. If working correctly, the technology will keep a log of seizure activity that’s 100% accurate and reliable.
The purpose of this study that’s being undertaken is twofold, firstly to test the real world applications of the technology and secondly to analyse whether the undertaking would be cost effective.
Prof Mark Richardson from King’s College London, who is the studies principal investigator said: “Clinicians treating people with epilepsy frequently make changes to therapy in the hope of improving the lives of the third of people whose seizures have not yet responded to treatment. We don’t know whether a change in treatment has been helpful without a very accurate count of seizures. Unfortunately, seizure diaries are often not accurate enough to judge whether treatment has led to any improvement.
“What the use of ultra long-term EEG opens up is the possibility, in future, of very accurately judging the effect of a change in treatment. We also anticipate that ultra long-term EEG will allow us to quickly identify that someone’s epilepsy is deteriorating so that we can immediately step up their care. This has the potential to be truly revolutionary for people living with a difficult illness.”
For more information on the technology, how it works and how it could benefit people with epilepsy. Please visit the UNEEG website.
