EEG-ECG tests have become essential pieces of the diagnostic puzzle regarding determining which patients have epilepsy or not. Typically, these tests require doctors to have patients come into the office and stay there for several hours while wearing various electrodes and other attachments on their heads and bodies.
Now, Seer Medical’s ecg-eeg test allows doctors to perform EEG-ECG diagnostic tests from the comfort of their own homes using the patient’s phone, tablet, or computer as an interface with the technology.
What is Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a chronic neurological condition that causes seizures. The signs and symptoms will vary depending on where in the brain the seizures originate. There are two types: focal-onset (where they start in one area) and generalized-onset (where they start in more than one area).
To be diagnosed with epilepsy, you must have had at least two unprovoked seizures or one unprovoked seizure, plus evidence that your epilepsy is not due to another medical condition. A diagnostic video EEG-ECG test can help identify whether someone has epilepsy by recording their brain waves, heart rate, and breathing patterns during a seizure. This test can be taken from home, which offers patients privacy and comfort while still receiving accurate results.
What is the test?
Epileptic seizures are a major medical issue; patients often must go to a hospital to be tested. With diagnostic video-EEG-ECG, people can do this testing in their homes. The only requirement is that they have access to a laptop or tablet.
This new test could help many people who may not otherwise be able to get tested for epilepsy due to their location or financial situation. It also saves hospitals the time and resources typically used to care for these patients.
Diagnostic video-EEG-ECG has already been successful with pilots in India, which has resulted in significantly decreased wait times for diagnosis. In addition to being more efficient, it is much less expensive than traditional tests.
What are the benefits?
A significant benefit to this type of testing is that it can be done in the comfort and privacy of your own home. You don’t need to make a memorable trip or wait in a long room at a hospital. The test will take between two and four hours, depending on how long you sleep while it’s being performed. And there are no side effects or risks associated with this test.
It’s not painful like an MRI or CT scan, and it won’t use any needles for sampling blood or other fluids. Since it’s only used to see whether or not a patient has epilepsy, you won’t have to worry about being exposed to radiation during the test.
The EEG doesn’t produce sound, so others in your home won’t hear anything from the test. And, since it can be done at home, patients can resume their normal activities immediately after the testing has concluded. They don’t need to rest or stay away from work and school.
This type of video-EEG-ECG may also provide quicker results than conventional tests. If a seizure was recorded during the study, it could provide vital information sooner than if they were admitted into a hospital and sent off for an MRI/CT scan.
Who is it for?
If you have epilepsy, you know how hard it is to live with. There are many types of seizures, and they can happen anytime. The unpredictability and severity can make it challenging to plan your life around them.
Epilepsy affects people differently, which makes diagnosis difficult. A doctor might ask patients to start keeping track of their seizures with a seizure diary or video-EEG-ECG monitoring.
The problem is these tests are invasive—the video-EEG-ECG is done in hospital rooms with wires attached to your head. For some people, this can be too much stress or an uncomfortable experience while trying to sleep at home.
Conclusion
Epilepsy is a common and severe neurological disorder that can cause seizures, which are sudden episodes of uncontrolled muscle contractions. Diagnosing epilepsy can sometimes be challenging because patients may have only one seizure and never have another again. Fortunately, new technologies like Seer Medical’s ecg-eeg test allow you to evaluate at home without coming in for an office visit.