Severance Hospital recently announced on the 24th that it has opened a Magnetoencephalography (MEG) room.
The establishment of the MEG room was carried out as part of the Ministry of Health and Welfare's epilepsy support system project. Severance Hospital and the Ministry of Health and Welfare invested a total of 4.4 billion KRW. It is the only MEG room in Korea equipped with advanced devices such as the brain magnetic field analysis equipment 'TRIUX neo.'
Epilepsy is one of the three major neurological disorders along with dementia and stroke. It is a brain disorder in which brain nerve cells intermittently become excited, causing repeated abnormal symptoms, and epilepsy is diagnosed when seizures recur more than twice without any special cause. The incidence rate of epilepsy is 7 per 1,000 people. Approximately 65 million people worldwide suffer from epilepsy, and there are about 360,000 patients in Korea.
The causes of epilepsy include brain tumors, cerebral infarction, encephalitis, and others. However, about 50% of epilepsy patients do not know the cause. In particular, about 100,000 patients have drug-resistant epilepsy, which is difficult to treat with medication, and they show a mortality rate more than 10 times higher than other types of epilepsy patients, along with frequent physical injuries.
Magnetoencephalography measures the magnetic fields generated by the activity of brain nerve cells using highly sensitive sensors. Based on this, it performs brain magnetic field waveform analysis and localization of cerebral activity currents to detect seizure waves, as well as accurately analyze brain lesion areas and brain function disorders.
In particular, since it uses magnetic fields, it is not affected by interference from the skull, dura mater, scalp, and other tissues. It is also non-invasive, causing no pain, and involves no exposure to radiation or high-pressure magnetic fields, making it safe to perform at all ages. Additionally, it can complement electroencephalography (EEG), greatly improving the accuracy of epilepsy cause analysis, treatment, and surgical planning.
Severance Hospital, together with the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Epilepsy Support Center, began pilot operations in February of this year and has examined approximately 108 patients so far. By type of examination, there were 108 cases of brain magnetic field mapping tests, 94 cases of one type of evoked brain magnetic field test, and 11 cases of two or more types.
Yoon Dong-seop, the medical director, said, "With the establishment of the MEG room, epilepsy patients can receive diagnosis and treatment more easily," adding, "The hospital, the National Assembly, and the government will join forces to strive for the treatment of epilepsy patients."
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