Researchers at the University of South Florida have developed a software algorithm model that could help surgeons in successful epilepsy surgery resulting in seizure freedom in patients. As per recent research, Epilepsy surgery is ineffective in as many as 1/3 of patients, and people who do not improve after surgery have a seizure network that is distributed across the brain and resistant to disconnection. This non-invasive technique performed with the help of on-the-desk equipment can generate a model of the negatively correlated epilepsy network which represents a protective anti-seizure network that needs to be preserved in surgery, as protection of the network may help to increase the efficacy of surgery. It is a beneficial network that inhibits seizure propagation and supports the functional networks involved in memory and executive function. This software algorithm automatically maps the negatively correlated epilepsy network using non-invasive surface electroencephalography and resting state functional MRI in a way that has never been done before.
Mapped regions (green) represent seizure-free network