Albany Medical Center is offering a new
\ndevice designed to help control seizures in
\npatients with epilepsy by detecting a sudden
\nincrease in heart rate.
\nowners in 2016.<\/p>\n
The device is only implantable at Level
\n4 epilepsy centers such as Albany Medical
\nCenter. A Level 4 rating from the National
\nAssociation of Epilepsy Centers indicates a
\ncenter offers the most advanced medical and
\nsurgical treatment options for epilepsy.<\/p>\n
Hospital officials said the AspireSR vagal
\nnerve stimulator, similar to a pacemaker, is
\nimplanted under the skin in the chest. When
\nthe device detects a sudden increase in heart
\nrate, which accompanies the early stage of a
\nseizure, it attempts to electrically interrupt
\nthe seizure before the patient loses consciousness
\nby sending an electrical impulse through
\na small wire connecting the device to the
\nvagus nerve.<\/p>\n
While vagus nerve stimulation has been
\na common treatment for epileptic seizures
\nsince the late 1990s, Albany Med neurologist
\nDr. Anthony Ritaccio said the AspireSR device
\nhas a better ability to detect and treat seizures
\nbefore they occur.
\n“Previous models of vagus nerve stimulators
\nrequired patient action to trigger an
\nelectrical impulse to the brain once the seizure
\nhad already begun,” said Ritaccio, director
\nof Albany Med’s Epilepsy and Human Brain
\nMapping Program and J. Spencer Standish
\nprofessor of neurology and neurosurgery at
\nAlbany Medical College. “The AspireSR has
\nthe ability to detect a seizure before it has
\nbegun, even while a patient is asleep. Our
\nhope is that this will significantly decrease the
\nnumber of seizures our patients experience
\nand improve their quality of life.”<\/p>\n
“We are pleased to be able to offer a minimally
\ninvasive option to both our adult and
\npediatric patients who do not respond well
\nto medication and who are not candidates
\nfor brain surgery,” said Dr. Matthew Adamo,
\nassociate professor of neurosurgery at Albany
\nMed.<\/p>\n
Albany Med performed its first surgery
\nwith the device in early July and has implanted
\nfive devices to date. The epilepsy program
\nexpects to implant 30-40 devices per year.<\/p>\n
Albany Med’s Epilepsy and Human Brain
\nMapping Program, which is part of the Neurosciences
\nInstitute, evaluates more than 350
\npatients each year in its inpatient epilepsy
\nmonitoring unit (EMU), officials said. The
\nEMU offers the most technologically sophisticated
\nmonitoring experience available,
\nincluding wireless brainwave recording. Brain
\nmapping techniques are used to locate areas
\nof the brain important for language, memory
\nand movement to safely guide surgical tissue
\nremoval in order to stop the seizures.<\/p>\n
To learn more about Albany Med’s epilepsy
\nprogram and how neurologists and neurosurgeons
\nhave helped patients overcome epilepsy,
\nvisit www.amc.edu\/neuro.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Albany Medical Center is offering a new device designed to help control seizures in patients with epilepsy by detecting a sudden increase in heart rate. owners in 2016. The device is only implantable at Level 4 epilepsy centers such as…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[54,66],"yoast_head":"\r\n