Automated interictal source localisation based on high-density EEG

Purpose: To study the accuracy of automated interictal EEG source localisation based on high-density EEG, and to compare it to low-density EEG. Methods: Thirty patients operated for pharmacoresistant focal epilepsy were retrospectively examined. Twelve months after resective brain surgery, 18 were seizure-free or had 'auras' only, while 12 had persistence of disabling seizures. Presurgical 257-channel EEG lasting 3-20 h was down-sampled to 25, 40, and 204 channels for separate analyses. For each electrode setup, interictal spikes were detected, clustered, and averaged automatically before validation by an expert reviewer. An individual 6-layer finite difference head model and the standardised low-resolution electromagnetic tomography were used to localise the maximum source activity of the most prevalent spike. Sublobar concordance with the resected brain area was visually assessed and related to favourable vs. unfavourable postsurgical outcome. Results: Depending on the EEG setup, epileptic spikes were detected in 21-24 patients (70-80%). The median number of single spikes per average was 470 (range 17-15,066). Diagnostic sensitivity of EEG source localisation was 58-75%, specificity was 50-67%, and overall accuracy was 55-71%. There were no significant differences between low-and high-density EEG setups with 25 to 257 electrodes. Conclusion: Automated high-density EEG source localisation provides meaningful information in the majority of cases. With hundreds of single spikes averaged, diagnostic accuracy is similar in high-and low-density EEG. Therefore, low-density EEG may be sufficient for interictal EEG source localisation if high numbers of spikes are available.

Automated summary

The study evaluated the accuracy of automated interictal EEG source localization based on high-density and low-density EEG, finding that high-density EEG provides meaningful information in the majority of cases. Diagnostic accuracy is similar in high-density and low-density EEG setups if large numbers of spikes are available, indicating that low-density EEG may be sufficient for interictal EEG source localization.