Diagnosing epilepsy is challenging—there’s no single definitive test, and conditions like migraines and panic attacks can mimic its symptoms. Since early diagnosis leads to faster treatment and better outcomes, a more accurate test could improve millions of lives every year.
Biomedical engineer Sri Sarma and her team have developed EpiScalp, a new diagnostic tool that could be a game-changer.
1. What percentage of epilepsy tests result in false positives?
A. 15%
B. 30%
C. 65%
Answer: B
False positives occur in about 30% of cases globally, leading to unnecessary treatments, medication side effects, driving restrictions, and reduced quality of life.
2. While an electroencephslogram (EEG) is the most common way to diagnose epilepsy, interpretation of the test can be subjective and prone to error. Which factors make it challenging to interpret EEG results?
A. EEGs can capture noisy signals, unrelated to epilepsy
B. The number of electrodes used in the EEG can vary
C. A seizure may not occur while the test is being conducted
D. A patient can use mind control to alter the results
Answer: A and C
EpiScalp uses dynamic network models to detect epilepsy markers even in seemingly normal EEGs— leading to faster, more accurate diagnoses.
3. What significant improvement did the EpiScalp tool bring to the misdiagnosis rate in the study?
A. It could reduce misdiagnoses by up to 30%
B. It could reduce misdiagnoses by up to 70% 17
C. It could eliminate false positives entirely
Answer: B
EpiScalp helped reduce false positives significantly by uncovering epilepsy markers in EEGs that initially appeared normal, improving diagnostic accuracy. The study analyzed data from 198 epilepsy patients from five major medical centers: Some 91% of the patients had epilepsy, while the rest had non-epileptic conditions mimicking epilepsy. When Sarma’s team reanalyzed the initial EEGs using EpiScalp, the tool ruled out 96% of those false positives, cutting potential misdiagnoses among these cases from 54% to 17%.