ABSTRACT
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that affects 2.3 million people in the United States and as many as fifty million people worldwide [Begley et al., 2000]. Perhaps half have intractable epilepsy; that is, seizures cannot be controlled by antiepileptic drug (AED) therapy, and/or there are side effects from AEDs that adversely impact quality of life. The ketogenic diet, the vagus nerve stimulator, and epilepsy surgery are other treatment options. However, many persons with epilepsy are left without treatment that is efficacious, tolerable, and acceptable. Device-based therapies may provide additional therapeutic options. One approach to treating medically intractable localization-related epilepsy with partial onset seizures is to provide focal stimulation in response to electrographic epileptiform activity. The NeuroPace
RNS
system includes a cranially implanted responsive neurostimulator that continuously monitors electrocorticographic (ECoG) activity from intracranial electrodes, detects electrographic events of significance according to programmable detection algorithms, and provides responsive stimulation. The intent is to modify abnormal electrographic activity in an effort to prevent or terminate clinically evident seizures.
