Authors :
Presenting Author: Lillian Voke, BS – Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Michele Jackson, BS – Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School; Claire Ufongene, BS – Icahn School of Medicine; Mark Lehmkuhle, PhD – Epitel Inc.; Mitchell Frankel, PhD – Epitel Inc.; Tobias Loddenkemper, MD – Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Rationale:
Diagnosing epilepsy in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) can be overwhelming for patients as it requires a significant time and cost investment. At-home monitoring may provide insight into seizure events patients experience in their daily lives, but still can trigger distress in pediatric patients, especially those with developmental disabilities, who are often most likely to undergo EEG.
1 A reduced-channel, wireless EEG sensor may ease the distress associated with standard EEG. This study aims to assess the patient experience of a wireless EEG sensor in a pediatric pilot study.
1. Slifer, K. J., Avis, K. T., & Frutchey, R. A. (2008). Behavioral intervention to increase compliance with electroencephalographic procedures in children with developmental disabilities. Epilepsy & Behavior. 13(1), 189-195.
Methods: We evaluated patient experience of wearing a wireless EEG system with a web-based survey to ascertain a pediatric perspective during a pilot study. We enrolled patients, neonates to adults, scheduled for routine EEG monitoring with suspected seizures at a tertiary pediatric care center from May 2018 to May 2023. Patients wore a four or eight electrode wireless EEG system on the forehead/behind the ear for one to three days in the outpatient setting and for one to seven days in the inpatient setting in addition to a standard wired 10-20 EEG. Caregivers and patients provided feedback about a wireless EEG system in a 22-question survey (in English) sent by email. Survey questions included yes or no choices (8), four and 5 point Likert scales (8), and free text (6).
Results:
Of 169 patient families offered surveys, 31.3% were completed (n=53), and 50.1% of responses were from female participants (27) (median age 11; IQR: 7). 90% (45) of participants said they would wear the study sensor again, 13.5% (7) described the sensor as “very comfortable” with 53.8% (28) stated it was “comfortable.” 48.1% (25) of participants said the sensors were not itchy whereas 36.5% (19) reported wearing sensors as “somewhat itchy.” 90.4% (47) said that wearing the study sensors did not affect their sleep and 80.4% (41) were satisfied with the size of the sensors worn.
59.6% (31) answered that they wore the wireless sensor in public, 53.3% (16) reported feeling comfortable doing so and 80% (20) stated they felt a positive interaction from those who noticed the sensors. On a 5-point Likert scale, 78.8% (41) described the quality of sensor comfort as “very important” with 15.4% (8) reporting it as “important.” 70.8% (34) of respondents described the placement of sensors as “very important” or “important” whereas 31.9% (15) and 42.6% (20) reported color as “neutral” and “least important” respectively. Conclusions:
Our patient experience survey data from piloting a wireless EEG system demonstrates the feasibility of implementation of a novel monitoring system. Patient feedback may be used to implement EEG monitoring that increases patient adherence and reduces negative clinical and subjective experiences for pediatric patients.
Funding:
Supported by NIH 1U44 NS121562 and research funding by Epitel, Inc.