title: Spike and slow wave localization by magnetoencephalography.
abstract: At institutions where MEG is available, it is now considered a standard part of the diagnostic workup of most patients with epilepsy. Available data indicate that interictal MEG can be an effective tool for localization of the epileptic irritative zone, and in some cases it can even indicate the seizure onset site. Both spike and ALFMA examinations are clinically viable because of the availability of large-array systems. The current cost of acquiring MEG technology is high (greater than 2 million dollars), but recent technical developments should soon yield more cost-effective systems. It is anticipated that the increasing applicability of this technology to conditions beyond epilepsy (e.g., head trauma, ischemic disease, dementia, and psychiatric dysfunction) will soon render MEG a critical element in the general armamentarium of diagnostic procedures available to epileptologists, radiologists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, and psychiatrists.
authors.affiliation: Magnetic Source Imaging Facility, New Mexico Institute for Neuroimaging, Albuquerque, USA.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Lewine
authors.forename: W W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Orrison
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D015225:Magnetoencephalography / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis