New technology helps doctors quickly detect seizures

New cutting-edge brain-monitoring technology that can detect seizures within minutes at a patient’s bedside is now available at the Cape Cod Hospital Emergency Room and Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Most of us have heard of an EEG, or electroencephalography. It is the standard method for detecting changes in brain activity and diagnosing brain disorders, such as epilepsy. It cannot be used for acute changes in a patient's condition in the Emergency Room or ICU.

Now, smaller, portable units deliver rapid-response EEG technology, which decrease patient wait-times and help doctors diagnose brain activity accurately and quickly.

Most patients who have had a standard EEG are familiar with transport to a different facility in the hospital for more advanced testing. However, the new Ceribell Rapid Response EEG is at the bedside in the ER or ICU, providing doctors with valuable data in minutes.

Ceribell‘s cloud-linked, portable EEG system consists of a headband with integrated electrodes, a pocket-sized recorder with software, and an online portal in case doctors need to view results remotely.

Michael Hall, MD, who specializes in emergency medicine at Cape Cod Hospital, returned from a recent educational conference excited about the demonstration he had seen of the Ceribell Rapid Response EEG.

“I knew it could fill our needs right away,” he said. Cape Cod Healthcare made the decision to purchase the device right away, as well – eager to provide the highest quality healthcare to Cape Cod residents and visitors.

Most people think of someone experiencing seizures with symptoms such as twitching or convulsing, Dr. Hall explained. But medical science has learned that patients can have brain seizures while not exhibiting these typical symptoms. Nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) is when the brain is exhibiting seizure, but the body is not convulsing.

It is hard to diagnose what you cannot see, he said, but treatment for these brain-related conditions should not be delayed.

Dr. Hall pointed out that, in the past, physicians might have suspected seizures were occurring, but did not have the tools available to detect those seizures. Ceribell Rapid Response EEG may be best explained by its tagline: “From suspicion to decision in minutes.”

Before the Ceribell Rapid Response EEG was available at Cape Cod Hospital, patients had to be transferred to a Boston-area hospital for continuous EEG monitoring, he said. “Some of the tertiary care centers in Boston also use the Ceribell. Now, we have the ability on-site and at the patient’s bedside to diagnose seizures in patients with potential strokes, head injuries, bleeding in the brain or tumors,” Dr. Hall said.

A study evaluating rapid response EEG concluded:

“EEG is the standard method for diagnosing nonconvulsive seizures, and existing guidelines recommend that EEG monitoring should be initiated within one hour of suspicion for nonconvulsive seizures. Rapid response electroencephalography enabled timely and more accurate assessment of patients in the critical care setting. The use of rapid response electroencephalography may be clinically beneficial in the assessment of patients with high suspicion for nonconvulsive seizures and status epilepticus.”

According to the study, “Wait-time to Ceribell EEG was five minutes, compared to four hours with conventional EEG.”

“This new technology helps keep people here on the Cape, making it easier for patients and their families,” said Dr. Hall. “It is also a huge asset for doctors because it helps us make more informed decisions.”