Abrazo Health: Ceribell AI EEG seizure detection is leading technology saving lives
Staff Reports | Digital Free Press
The Abrazo West Campus is the first hospital in the greater Phoenix area with the Ceribell point-of-care EEG system utilizing artificial intelligence to help quickly detect non-convulsive seizures.
Non-convulsive seizures can progress to non-convulsive status epilepticus, which may cause irreversible brain damage and may go unrecognized due to a lack of obvious symptoms, Abrazo Health representatives report to the Arizona Digital Free Press.
Electroencephalograms (EEG) measures electrical activity in the brain using electrodes attached to the scalp, they say.
Powered by machine learning AI and typically used in the ICU or Emergency Department, the first use of the technology at Abrazo West Campus was on an ER patient who was having an active seizure not visible to the eye. When equipped with Clarity, a machine learning algorithm, the Ceribell system can interpret EEG signals and will provide audible and visual alerts when continuous seizures indicating status epilepticus are detected, according to its manufacturer.
“When clinically suspected, Ceribell bands can be applied to the patient’s head at bedside and the AI can detect seizure right away with very high clinical accuracy,” explained Dr. Sushant Kale, medical director for Neurology and Stroke at Abrazo West Campus.
“This enables the bedside clinician to treat the patient hours before they otherwise would have done it with traditional setup,” he said. The EEG is also available for neurologists to see in in real time on a HIPAA compliant smartphone app.
Abrazo Health: Ceribell AI EEG seizure detection is leading technology saving lives
EEG should be administered within 15-60 minutes of suspected status epilepticus in all patients, according to the Neuro Critical Care Society. EEG is also recommended for adult post-cardiac arrest care.
“Subclinical seizures are a type of seizure where a patient is having a full blown seizure in the brain but does not have any physical or clinical manifestation from it, which means the patient is not having a typical epileptic fit, so it is very hard to diagnose clinically,” said Dr. Kale.
The Ceribell system is comprised of an EEG headband that is placed on the patient, which is connected to a pocket-sized EEG display and recorder.
Continuous AI monitoring sends alerts for dangerously high seizure indications. EEG information is streamed to a portal and via smartphone app for remote seizure and medication management.
“The new EEG system adds to the hospital’s ability provide timely interventions for individuals with neurological concerns, and is the result of our continued investment and advancement in neurosciences to produce quality outcomes Abrazo West Campus,” said Hospital CEO Hans Driessnack.
“This is a great leap forward to serve critically ill patients in the West Valley. I commend the visionary leadership of Abrazo West for making this possible,” added Dr. Kale.
