Wireless Portable “Pen” Electroencephalogram (EEG) Device for Rapid Clinical Diagnoses in the Neuro ICU

Project Description:
A large number of seizures are non-convulsive with almost no clinical indication of an ongoing seizure. In critically ill patients in the emergency room and an intensive care setting, up to 25% of all patients are having seizures that are not diagnosed. Such non-convulsive seizures can be continuous, called “non-convulsive status epilepticus” (NCSE), a process that can harm the brain from an excessive and abnormal “thunderstorm-like” electrical in the brain. The only way to diagnosis NCSE is by electroencephalogram (EEG). An EEG is typically ordered by a physician and consists of multiple electrodes being placed on the scalp by a technician, taking approximately 30 minutes to initiate and then additional time for a neurologist to interpret. There is no handheld device that offers physicians a quick way to diagnosis NCSE.

This project consists of the development of a wireless, portable EEG pen that can allow physicians to rapidly diagnose non-convulsive seizures without the lengthy process of ordering an EEG. The development of such a handheld device for a physician can be transformational, allowing emergency medical physicians, neurologists, and intensive care doctors to help epileptic patients rapidly without delay.

This exciting project requires knowledge of basic biomedical engineering concepts, including hardware development, data acquisition, and signal processing. Additional interest and expertise in electrical engineering and mechanical engineering concepts is highly desirable towards successful development and implementation of this project.

Project Mentor:
Engineering Mentor: Christine E. King, PhD, Department of Biomedical Engineering, UCI, kingce@uci.edu
Physician Mentor: Yama Akbari, MD, Departments of Neurology & Neurological Surgery, UCI, yakbari@uci.edu

Team Members: 

Anirudh Bhushan, Hengji Chen, Quinn Takashi Korematsu, Ayushi Hitesh Patel, Trevor G. Silence