Research 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

We want to understand what happens in your brain in epilepsy. That's why we often do an EEG test. EEG stands for electroencephalogram.

Electroencephalo-what?!
An electroencephalogram is a test where we look at the electrical currents in your brain, this is also called brain activity. This way the doctor can see what is wrong with the electrical currents and in which part of your brain this happens. This way the doctor can better understand what is going on. We do this by sticking all kinds of colored wires on your head and arms. For this you come to the hospital for a day and a night.

What will happen during the research?
We use a sticky paste, a drop of glue and stickers to stick the wires on your head. Sometimes we blow the glue dry with air. That looks a bit like crafting on your head. All those wires look like a happy spaghetti.

If the wires are properly attached, we can start measuring. We measure your brain activity for a whole day and night. Your mom or dad can stay with you the whole time. There is also a camera in the room that will film you. This is because we want to know when you move, so we can more easily understand your brain activity afterwards.

You can also see your brain activity on the screen in your room. Each wire is a line on the screen. Crazy, how complex those brains are? Fortunately, there are enough people in the hospital who know what it all means.

MRI

An MRI scanner takes pictures of the inside of your head with a large magnet. We have hidden that magnet in a tunnel. Your mom or dad will always stay with you during the examination.

First you can lie down on a table. You will get headphones because the magnet makes a lot of noise while taking the pictures. Then we slide the table into the tunnel, while your mom or dad stays with you. It is important that you try to lie still, so we can take nice pictures. Sometimes the examination takes a long time, but you can watch a nice movie through a mirror.

We sometimes put small children to sleep. Your mother or father are always nearby. The doctor uses a mask to make you fall asleep. This happens very quickly: after a few seconds you are already asleep. While you are asleep, we take you to the MRI scanner to take pictures of the inside of your head. A nurse is always with you. After the examination, we take you out of the scanner and you slowly wake up again. Your mother or father will soon be with you again.

SPECT

When you come to the hospital for a long-term EEG with SPECT, you will stay here for a few days, together with mom or dad. First, we will apply an EEG to your head. We will then attach all kinds of colored wires to your head and arms and measure what happens in your head. You can read more about how an EEG works here.

You will also get an IV, which is a small tube that we will prick in your hand or arm with a needle. That is a small prick that will be over very quickly. When you have an attack, mom or dad will call the nurses. Then we will inject a small amount of fluid through that tube, luckily you will not feel it at all. If you are under 8 years old, the nurse will also give you a syrup that will make you feel drowsy. About an hour later we will do a scan called a SPECT. With this we look at how your brain worked during the attack.

First, you have to take off all metal things, such as a necklace or a bracelet. Then you can lie down on the examination table. Your head will be placed at the very end, in a kind of special bowl. We will attach a few straps to your head, so that it is easy to lie still. It feels like getting into a car and having to put on your seat belt.

Then the examination begins. The scanner will rotate around your head, a bit like lying in the middle of a merry-go-round without moving yourself. After the examination, you can go back to the room with mom or dad. After you are back home, you will come back to the hospital a few days later for a new scan. This one is about the same as the previous one, but now you can go home with mom and dad afterwards

PET

More information will follow soon.