title: A Handy EEG Electrode Set for patients suffering from altered mental state.
abstract: Although electroencephalography (EEG) is an important diagnostic tool for investigating patients with unexplained altered mental state (AMS), recording of emergency EEG is not a clinical routine. This is mainly due to the cumbersome electrode solutions. A Handy EEG Electrode Set consists of ten EEG, two EOG, two ground and two commutative reference hydrogel-coated silver wire electrodes attached to a thin polyester carrier film. The clinical usefulness of the Handy EEG Electrode Set was tested in 13 patients (five females, eight males) with AMS. EEG recordings were conducted at the same time with a standard 10-20 electrode set. The registration in the first patient case without the behind-ear electrodes (T9 and T10), indicated that these electrodes are very crucial to provide clinically relevant information from posterior regions of brain. In following 12 cases, the sensitivity and specificity for detecting EEG abnormality based on the Handy EEG Electrode Set recordings were 83 and 100 %, respectively. The Handy EEG Electrode Set proved to be easy to use and to provide valuable information for the neurophysiological evaluation of a patient suffering from AMS. However, further studies with larger number of patients are warranted to clarify the true diagnostic accuracy and applicability of this approach.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Kuopio University Hospital, POB 100, 70029, Kuopio, Finland. pasi.lepola@uef.fi.|Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland, POB 1627, 70211, Kuopio, Finland. pasi.lepola@uef.fi.
authors.forename: Pasi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lepola
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland, POB 1627, 70211, Kuopio, Finland.|SIB Labs, University of Eastern Finland, POB 1627, 70211, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Sami
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Myllymaa
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Kuopio University Hospital, POB 100, 70029, Kuopio, Finland.|Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland, POB 1627, 70211, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Juha
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Töyräs
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Kuopio University Hospital, POB 100, 70029, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Taina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hukkanen
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Kuopio University Hospital, POB 100, 70029, Kuopio, Finland.|Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, POB 100, 70029, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Esa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mervaala
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Kuopio University Hospital, POB 100, 70029, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Määttä
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland, POB 1627, 70211, Kuopio, Finland.|SIB Labs, University of Eastern Finland, POB 1627, 70211, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Reijo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lappalainen
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Kuopio University Hospital, POB 100, 70029, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Myllymaa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis; D003244:Consciousness Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004566:Electrodes; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012640:Seizures / Q000175:diagnosis
keywords: Altered mental state; EEG; Electrode; Emergency EEG; Hydrogel; Status epilepticus