Seizure & epilepsy
Seizure is a disorder of the nervous system, thought to be the result of faulty electrical activity in the brain which can lead to changes in behavior, movement, feelings, and/or levels of consciousness.
Description
Epilepsy studies involve seizure detection from EEG traces, but other parameters can be of interest, such as ECG, EMG, activity/behavior, or sleep scoring. For instance, researches have been suggesting that SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy) could occur preferentially during sleep. Therefore, combining epilepsy and sleep analysis, through a unique analysis software, is a crucial advantage when studying SUDEP and other comorbidities.
Additionally, seizure detection can be useful when working in toxicology or safety pharmacology studies. The testing of various agents and drugs and their effects on seizure threshold or the induction of seizures can be useful when determining safety of said compounds and therapeutics.
Video monitoring, combined with biopotentials acquisition, is also recommended, to identify and characterize seizure movements and give insight to seizure development and intensity. EEG and synchronized video acquisition help to identify motor and non-motor seizures or behavioral artifacts.
Wireless technology permits a constant transfer of high volumes of digital data from freely moving animals. The advantages associated with this technique are well established; higher quality data obtained from naturally-behaving subjects, which reliably captures detailed physiological events.
Implantable telemetry options
Various sized options are available in our implantable telemetry systems.
Rodents
Fully implantable easyTEL+ system and rodentPACK head-mounted systems are both wireless and allow subjects to freely move around their cages with group housing options.
- easyTEL+ system acquires a single biopotential and provides the options for activity and core body temperature recordings.
- rodentPACK system can collect up to 4 biopotentials (EEG, EOG, ECG, EMG) in addition to activity recording. rodentPACK also provides the ability to reuse transmitters across subjects, cohorts, and/or studies for a cost-effective alternative to implantable telemetry.
Large animals
The fully implantable easyTEL+ system offers up to 4 biopotentials (EEG, EOG, ECG, EMG) with optional temperature and activity monitoring that can be paired with synchronized video recording.
All of our telemetry recording systems can be paired with synchronized video monitoring to assist with neurological assessments.
Non-invasive telemetry options
Non-invasive systems collect neurological and activity changes without surgical implantation of the telemeter. Subjects are equipped with an external transmitter housed in a jacket or a helmet with surface leads paced on the scalp. Physiological measurements are captured non-invasively and wirelessly transmitted by Bluetooth or radio frequency, to a receiver.
Analysis
Our powerful EEG analysis software helps researchers comb through the data and analyze their subject’s response to various agents, drugs, and disease models. It allows the analysis of EEG morphology with time-synchronized video for behavioral verification.
Automated sleep scoring allows for further behavioral analysis through sleep staging that can be overlaid on signal screen. FFT spectral information can also be overlaid on the signal screen to observe changes between epoch in relation to other variables.
AW: Active Wake; QW: Quiet Wake; SWS: Slow Wave Sleep ; REM: Rapid Eye Movement sleep
Epilepsy detection module
From the EEG signal, the seizure detection module automatically detects seizures, combining multiple user adjusted criteria and logical modes:
- All detected seizures are logged in a table
- Invalid seizures can be deleted
- Undetected seizures can be created
- Valid seizures can be exported to text or xls files
Heatmaps allow for easy identification of changes in signal over time or across leads and related to disease, activity, or incoherence across various leads or brain regions.
Protocol example
McGuire, M. J., Gertz, S. M., McCutcheon, J. D., Richardson, C. R., Poulsen, D. J. Use of a Wireless Video-EEG System to Monitor Epileptiform Discharges Following Lateral Fluid-Percussion Induced Traumatic Brain Injury. J. Vis. Exp. (148), e59637, doi:10.3791/59637 (2019).
Related products
Related publications
Assessment of seizure activity in the telemetered dog: a new procedure using the rodentpack system
Poster presented by Posolt at the Society Of Toxicology meeting, 2017
Cardiac changes in epileptic baboons with high-frequency microburst VNS therapy: A pilot study
de la Garza et al, Epilepsy Research, 2019
Development of A Large Animal Model for Combined Seizure and Cardiovascular Liability Assessment
Nataliya Sadekova et al, Poster from Charles River, SPS annual meeting 2019
Use of a Wireless Video-EEG System to Monitor Epileptiform Discharges Following Lateral Fluid-Percussion Induced Traumatic Brain Injury
McGuire, M.J.et al, J. Vis. Exp. (148), 2019
Surface Lead EEGs: Will It Stick?
Ken Kearney et al, poster presented at the Safety Pharmacology Society, 2018
Head mounted telemetry system for seizures monitoring and sleep scoring on non-human primate
J S Vuong et al, J Neurosci Methods . 2020 Aug
