Examinations in the hospital

If you have epilepsy, you often have to come to the hospital to talk to doctors or to do tests. With these tests, the doctor tries to understand what the cause of your epilepsy is and how you can be helped as best as possible.

EEG and SEEG

What is a video‑EEG?

A video‑EEG, or video electroencephalogram, is a test that shows how the electrical signals in your brain work. These electrical signals are also called brain activity.
By measuring these, doctors can better understand where in your brain your epileptic seizures begin.

In the room where the test takes place, there is a camera that records everything.
This helps doctors see what your body is doing, moving, sleeping, playing, or having a seizure, at the exact same moment they look at your brain waves.

How do we do the test?

1. We place small stickers (electrodes) on your head

These electrodes measure the electrical signals in your brain.

• It doesn’t hurt.
• It feels a bit like we’re crafting on your head.
• All the wires look like a cheerful bunch of spaghetti!
• Sometimes a few stickers go on your arms or chest too — that doesn’t hurt either.

2. You stay in a room where we film you

A camera records the whole time so doctors can later understand what happens in your brain when you sleep, play, rest, or have a seizure.

3. You stay in the hospital for one or more days

How long depends on what the doctors need to measure.
You may bring your teddy, books, or favourite toys so you feel comfortable.

4. Your parents/caregivers may stay with you the whole time

They sleep in the same room and help you throughout the test.

Why do we do this test?

With a video‑EEG, doctors can see:

• how your brain works when you sleep,
• what happens during play or rest,
• and especially what happens during a seizure.

By looking at all this together, doctors can understand where in your brain the epilepsy begins, so they can help you even better.

SEEG

What is a SEEG examination?

Sometimes doctors need to know very precisely where your seizures start.
If other tests don’t give clear enough answers, a Stereo‑EEG (SEEG) can help.

How does it work?

1. First, you fall asleep with anaesthesia

You get special sleep medicine that makes you sleep deeply.
You don’t feel anything that happens afterward.

2. The doctors place thin wires inside your brain

Through very tiny openings in your skull, they put in thin electrodes.
These electrodes measure the electrical signals in your brain from very close by.

Doctors who do this have lots of experience and keep a close eye on you the whole time.

After the operation

3. You stay in the hospital for a few days

The electrodes measure your brain signals day and night.
Just like with a video‑EEG, there is a camera in your room so doctors can see what your body does when something changes in your brain.

4. Sometimes doctors try to bring on a seizure

This may sound a little scary, but it helps a lot to see exactly where the seizure starts.
You are safely connected to all the equipment, and someone is always nearby.

You are never alone

Nurses and doctors watch over you all the time. And of course, your mum or dad can stay with you.
They help you with everything and make sure you feel safe and calm.

MRI

What is an MRI scan?

An MRI is a test that makes very clear pictures of the inside of your head. It uses a super strong magnet inside a tunnel‑shaped machine.
These pictures help doctors see what your brain looks like and whether something there could explain your epilepsy.

How does an MRI work?

1. You lie on a soft table

This table slowly moves into the tunnel.
Your mum or dad can almost always stay close to you so you feel safe.

2. You get headphones or earplugs

The MRI makes loud tapping or buzzing noises.
With the headphones, it sounds much softer, sometimes you can even watch a film through a little mirror inside the tunnel.

3. The machine takes pictures

It doesn’t hurt at all.
But you have to lie very still, like a statue, so the pictures are sharp.

Contrast fluid (sometimes)

Sometimes you get a tiny injection with contrast fluid. This helps make some parts of the brain extra clear on the pictures. It’s safe, and most children hardly feel it.

What if you are still very young?

Some young children find it hard to lie still — and that’s completely normal.

If needed:

• You get a mask with sleep medicine.
• You fall asleep in a few seconds.
• While you sleep, we take all the pictures.
• A nurse stays with you the whole time.
• When the scan is finished, you slowly wake up.
• Your mum or dad is immediately back with you.

Why do we do an MRI?

An MRI shows:

• how your brain is built,
• whether any spots look different,
• and whether that might explain your epilepsy.

This helps doctors understand even better how to help you.

SPECT

What is a SPECT scan and why do we do it?

A SPECT scan shows how blood flows through your brain.
It helps doctors see which parts of your brain work very hard during a seizure.

By taking two different scans and comparing them, doctors can see more clearly where your seizure begins.

Why do you stay in the hospital for a few days?

For a SPECT scan, you usually stay in the hospital for about a week.
Doctors need to give the special tracer at just the right moment — sometimes during a seizure, because then they can see which part of the brain becomes most active.

How does the test work?

1. You get a small injection

The tracer in this injection shows the blood flow in your brain.

• It’s a tiny needle.
• You hardly feel it.
• The tracer is safe and disappears from your body on its own.

2. Then pictures are taken

You lie on a bed, and a machine takes pictures around your head.

• The machine is like a big camera.
• It slowly turns around you.
• It doesn’t hurt.
• You just have to lie still.

Two SPECT scans to compare

Doctors take two scans:

• one during or shortly after a seizure,
• one on a quiet day, a few weeks later.

By comparing them, doctors can pinpoint exactly where the seizure begins in your brain.

What is SISCOM?

SISCOM is a clever computer tool:

• It puts the two SPECT scans on top of each other,
• and combines them with your MRI scan,
• so doctors can see precisely which part of your brain is involved in the seizure.

PET

What is a PET scan and why do we do it?

A PET scan is a special picture of your brain that shows which parts work hard and which work less.
This helps doctors understand where your epilepsy might come from.

How does the test work?

1. We place some small stickers (electrodes) on your head

They don’t hurt and help us follow your brain activity.

2. You get a small injection with a special tracer

This tracer gives a tiny bit of signal on the scan so the PET machine can see what your brain is doing.

• It’s safe.
• You don’t usually feel it.
• It leaves your body on its own.

3. You rest for a while

You lie in a quiet room so the tracer spreads through your body.
It’s important not to move too much so the scan will be clear.

The PET scan itself

You then lie on a soft bed that slides into a round scanner.

• It doesn’t hurt.
• It makes very little noise.
• You lie very still, like a statue, so the pictures turn out clearly.
  
  

You are never alone

It’s normal to feel a bit nervous. But you are never alone:

• your parents or caregivers are nearby,
• and the nurses help you every step of the way.

Together, we make sure all these tests go as calmly and comfortably as possible.