Video EEG for Epilepsy Monitoring
Video EEG allows doctors to observe changes in a patient's brain activity as they are happening and compare behavioral changes with this activity. Video EEG over a 24-hour period helps them make a faster diagnosis and more precisely classify the type of seizure disorder, enabling them to customize therapy for each patient.
What You Can Expect
Video EEG is performed as an inpatient procedure at NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester. You or your child will be admitted to the hospital for this exam, which is conducted in a quiet and soothing Epilepsy Monitoring Unit. Each patient is admitted to a private room, at no additional cost. No radiation or needles are used for this exam.
- The EEG technician connects 16-25 sensors (electrodes) to the patient's head. Each electrode is a wire with adhesive at its tip to attach to the scalp.
- A white gauze cap is placed on the patient's head to hold the electrodes in place.
- The electrode wires are connected to a box that collects data on brain activity. The patient feels nothing during the exam.
- The patient's entire experience is also video recorded so we can see how changes in brain activity correlate with changes in movement or behavior.
- An EEG technician is present for the entire procedure. Other healthcare professionals you will meet include a neurologist as well as nurse practitioners and our physician assistant.
- You will typically receive the test results before you are discharged from the hospital.
Video EEG in Newborns, Children, and Teens
Our pediatric epilepsy specialists care for patients under the age of 21 years. Parents and their children receive the same high level of care at NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester that we provide in Manhattan at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital. Having a video EEG can spare you from a trip to New York City and enable you to get home sooner after the test is completed.
- All of our pediatric epilepsy doctors at both campuses are on the same ColumbiaDoctors team and communicate with each other regularly. Your child's electronic medical record is accessible at both institutions.
- One parent is welcome to stay overnight with the child.
- You will have a button to push if your child experiences certain unusual behaviors or movements during the exam. We can then compare the timing of those changes with your child's EEG.
- Your child does not need to stay perfectly still but does need to stay in the room for the duration of the exam.
- Young children often do not understand why they are taking the test and what is expected of them. We have a dedicated child life specialist on the unit to help distract them when the electrodes are connected and keep them occupied and calm during the exam. Child life specialists also have experience working with children with autism spectrum disorders and other special needs who need video EEG.
- We have hospitalists (doctors who work exclusively in the hospital) to treat emergencies in newborns and children that may occur overnight.