Posts Tagged ‘MEG’
Amanda Momberg of Cedarburg, Wis., was 8 years old when she fell to the kitchen floor and experienced her first epileptic seizure.
“I would shake on one side and I couldn’t talk,” she said. “But I would hear people talking to me.”
For most of her life, she took medication to control the seizures..But in December 2008, at age 16, the medications stopped working. Amanda suddenly started having 60 to 100 seizures a day.
“It was awful,” said Amanda’s mother, Kathy Momberg. “I was not in control; you couldn’t do anything about it.”
Doctors hoped surgery would help, but the surgeons’ first attempt to remove the part of her brain causing the seizures was not successful.
“That’s when the topic of MEG scan came up,” said Kathy Momberg.
Magnetoencophalography, or MEG, is an imaging technique used by doctors to detect changes in the brain. But unlike other imaging tests, the MEG scanner tracks changes in the brain instantaneously.
Because of Amanda’s nearly continuous seizures, Dr. Manoj Raghavan, a neurologist at Froedtert & Medical College in Milwaukee., suggested using MEG to see if there were more parts of Amanda’s brain tissue involved in the seizures they could remove without affecting vital parts of her brain.
The MEG scanner can detect changes in brain waves that occur on the order of milliseconds, as opposed to a second or more with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). And for a select few patients like Amanda, those extra milliseconds can mean the difference between life and death.
When Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin received the MEG scanner, Amanda became their first patient.
To Read the Entire Story : http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/MindMoodNews/sixty-seizures-brain-scan-detects-source/story?id=9730383
Neuromag
The University Hospital at Heinrich-Heine-University in Düsseldorf, Germany, has installed Elekta Neuromag, a device for noninvasive measurement of brain activity using Magnetoencephalography (MEG) technology.
Completely non-invasive and painless, MEG is a powerful tool used for studying normal brain function, as well as brain disorders, such as epilepsy and autism.
The University has been utilizing MEG technology for more than 12 years; however, recently upgraded their Elekta system, allowing researchers to record human brain activity better and more accurately than before.
“After successfully using the old 122-channel Neuromag MEG system for more than 12 years, I’m extremely excited about the installation of the technologically-advanced 306-channel system,”
says Professor Alfons Schnitzler, M.D., Ph.D., head, Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology and Director, Center for Movement Disorders and Neuromodulation, Heinrich-Heine-University.
Researchers from various departments, such as neurology, clinical neuroscience, neurosurgery, psychiatry, and experimental psychology will employ MEG to track brain activity related to sensory, motor, cognitive and emotional functions, at high temporal and spatial resolution, in healthy human subjects, as well as patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders.
“One particular focus,” said Dr. Schnitzler, “will be on the identification and modulation of oscillatory networks involved in normal brain function and their alterations in movement disorders and other neuropsychiatric diseases.”
Dr. Schnitzler also notes that the Center for Movement Disorders and Neuromodulation at HHU runs a comprehensive program on Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). DBS delivers a constant, low electrical stimulation to the brain through implanted electrodes and is used to help partially restore normal movements in Parkinson’s Disease, tremor syndromes, dystonia and other movement disorders.
“The new MEG system will allow us to record brain activity from patients with implanted DBS devices and to study mechanisms of DBS and other neuromodulatory interventions,” continues Schnitzler. “In addition to MEG, state-of-the-art MRI, PET, high-density EEG, and stereotactic TMS facilities, as well as intracranial recordings are available to complement the picture obtained from MEG measurements. This combination will provide a unique, non-invasive window through the human skull, offering exciting perspectives for clinical and cognitive neuroscientists and clinicians.”
The Mind Research Network (MRN) will bring world-leading technology to Albuquerque, with the acquisition of an Elekta Neuromag®, a device for non-invasive measurement of brain activity using Magnetoencephalography (MEG) technology.
MRN has been utilizing MEG technology to study brain function and disorders for approximately the last five years; however, the organization will upgrade to the Elekta Neuromag MEG system in early 2009, allowing researchers to record human brain activity better and more accurately than before.
“When looking to replace our current MEG system, we chose Elekta because we felt that their data collection software and analysis and archiving of records would meet all of our research and clinical needs,” says Michael Weisend, Ph.D., director of MEG/EEG Core at MRN, and expert in identifying and specifically defining the location of epileptic seizures.
“We are funded to study a variety of neuroscience areas that will exploit the Elekta Neuromag’s capability,” says Weisend. “Currently, we investigate the fundamental mechanisms of learning and memory in healthy individuals, as well as those with brain-based disorders such as traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, drug addiction, and schizophrenia. We also are collaborating with Dr. Bruce Fisch, director of the epilepsy treatment program at the University of New Mexico to develop a clinical MEG program. This program will help to guide neurosurgical intervention in people with epilepsy and brain tumors.”
“With a long-term commitment to the development of MEG technology, Elekta was the natural choice when MRN made its decision to purchase a new MEG system,” says Stephen Otto, Chairman of Elekta’s Neuromag Business. “We are pleased to see an increasing interest around the world for Elekta Neuromag systems, particularly in the U.S. We will continue to develop new features and technological advances so that organizations like MRN can continue to be at the forefront of MEG instrumentation.”
MEG technology is regarded as the most efficient method for tracking brain activity at millisecond resolution. Compared to EEG technology, MEG has uniquely accurate localization capabilities. Other technologies such as Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), only provide anatomical or metabolic information; whereas MEG is a direct measure of neuronal electric activity. When complemented with MRI, MEG increases the ability to understand brain activity and improve treatment of functional disorders particularly, epilepsy.
Read more about the Elekta Neuromag
Malignant – Another term for cancerous cells and commonly refers to a malignant tumor, the main characteristic of which is that it is likely to penetrate the tissues or organ in which it originated as well as move to other sites.
MEG – Magneto-encephalography – a non-invasive diagnostic technique that directly measures the magnetic fields produced by electrical currents in the brain. Click for more on a MEG patient examination
Melanoma – A cancer of the pigment-forming cells of the skin or the retina of the eye.
Meningioma – Benign tumor arising from the intermediate covering layer of the brain (arachnoid) and from the pia along the spinal chord.
Metastases – Secondary growths derived from a primary malignant tumor at a distant site.
Metastasis – 1) Singular of Metastases – 2) The process by which Metastases spread from one part of the body to another via the lymph system or blood vessels. read more @ Livingwithbrainmets.org
MRI – Magnetic Resonance Imaging uses magnetic resonance to produce images of the body.
A MEG (magnetoencephalography) examination is totally non-invasive and painless. MEG is used for mapping of brain signals to identify and localize various activities.
Elekta Neuromag
The information is used for clinical applications such as pre-surgical mapping, epilepsy investigations and different research areas. The advantage of MEG is that you see the brain in action, rather than viewed as a still image, this gives unique information that no other image or scanning method can provide.
Elekta Neuromag® is a preferred system among many clinicians and researchers around the world, because of its high and reliable performance.
MEG Software
Examination Process
* The actual scanning process with MEG can take as little as a few minutes or up to several hours depending on the procedure. Three to five small coils are attached on the patient’s head. These coils form a coordinate system that helps synthesize the combined MEG and MRI data.
* Location of the coils with respect to anatomical landmarks on the head are determined with a 3-dimensional digitizer to allow alignment of the MEG coordinates with the anatomy provided by separate MRI images. During the measurement the marker coils are employed to continuously follow the head position.
* The brain activity, spontaneous or evoked in response to various types of stimuli, is recorded with good on-line control on the quality of the recorded data.
* To complete the examination, the MEG data is analysed by the software and the resulting knowledge of the spatial distribution of brain activity is integrated with the MRI image. For More info visit the Elekta Neuromag Page.
Elekta Neuromag on MSNBC – View Neuromag Video
Elekta Neuromag® is an advanced magnetoencephalography (MEG) device providing real-time mapping of brain activity by non-invasively measuring the magnetic fields produced by the brain.
An Elekta Neuromag® examination answers questions like:
* What activity is the brain producing and where does it originate from?
* Which parts of the brain undertake various tasks?
* How does the brain function, both normally and in cases of illness?
Elekta Neuromag® is technically one of the most sophisticated MEG/EEG devices available on the market today.
The unique design of the sensors combined with advanced software makes it possible to gain data with unsurpassed detail even from the deepest realms of the brain.
The system also has the highest available immunity to magnetic interference, either patient related or external.
Elekta Neuromag® also has the lowest operational costs, with the longest liquid helium refill interval.
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