Analysis of epileptic electroencephalogramsEpilepsy is a recurrent neurological disease characterized by unprovoked seizures. According to the World Health Organization fact sheet on epilepsy, approximately 50 million people worldwide are affected by it. Seizures are controllable with medications; however, about 30% of the patients whose seizures do not respond to them. In this situation, neurostimulation treatment and surgical intervention can be alternatives, where accurate localization of the epileptogenic zone is essential in guiding their operations. Short-lasting rhythmic activities in intracranial electroencephalograms (iEEGs), referred to as high-frequency oscillations (HFOs), are discrete events lying in the frequencies between 80 and 500 Hz that stand out from the background activity in the same band. They are characterized by the duration of 30 to 100 ms, an inter-event interval of at least 25 ms, an amplitude range of 10 to 100 μV, and at least 3 to 4 oscillations. HFOs are more likely to be found in the regions of primary epileptogenesis than in those of the secondary spread. Reducing the antiepileptic drug dosage will increase the rates and durations of HFOs. Surgical removal of the regions generating HFOs correlates with seizure-free post-surgical outcomes. Thus, many studies have indicated that HFOs can be promising biomarkers of epileptogenic zones. The purpose of the project is to propose a unified framework for HFO analysis, including HFO detection and classification, epileptogenic zone (EZ) delineation, and connectivity analysis inside the EZ to propel the clinical practice of HFOs in Taiwan.
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