System and methods for analyzing seizure activity

Abstract

The present invention provides systems and methods for ambulatory, long term monitoring of a physiological signal from a patient. At least a portion of the systems of the present invention may be implanted within the patient in a minimally invasive manner. In preferred embodiments, brain activity signals are sampled from the patient and are transmitted to a handheld patient communication device for further processing.

1 . A method for analyzing seizure activity:
 receiving a set of physiological signal data collected on an ambulatory basis using a device implanted in a patient, said set of physiological signal data comprising EEG data containing a plurality of seizure events;   processing the set of physiological signal data with a seizure detection algorithm to detect the plurality of seizure events; and   operating report generation software to generate a seizure activity report, said seizure activity report comprising seizure activity metrics.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the set of physiological signal data further comprises ECG data. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the EEG data is collected using one or more electrodes positioned between at least one layer of the patient's scalp and the patient's skull. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the EEG data is collected using one or more intracranial electrodes. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the set of physiological signal data is received from a data collection device that is external to the patient's body, said data collection device having received the physiological signal data from an implanted device which sampled the physiological signal to generate the physiological signal data. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the seizure activity report comprises reflects the differences in the seizure activity data for the different time periods 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the seizure activity report comprises a chart reflecting the differences in the seizure activity data for the different time periods. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the seizure activity metrics comprise a seizure count for a time period. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the seizure activity metrics comprise a seizure frequency for a time period. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the seizure activity metrics comprise a seizure length. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the seizure activity metrics comprise a seizure pattern. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the seizure activity report comprises a first set of seizure activity metrics during a first time period and a second set of seizure activity metrics for a second time period, wherein said first time period occurs before initiation of a patient therapy and said second time period occurs after initiation of the patient therapy. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12  above wherein the patient therapy comprises an anti-epileptic drug (AED). 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12  wherein the patient therapy comprises electrical stimulation. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12  wherein the first set of seizure activity metrics comprises a seizure count during the first time period and the second set of seizure activity metrics comprises a seizure count during the second time period. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12  wherein the initiation of the patient therapy comprises a change to a dosage or frequency of intake of an AED. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the seizure activity report comprises a first set of seizure activity metrics during a first time period and a second set of seizure activity metrics for a second time period, wherein said first time period occurs while the patient is undergoing a first therapy and said second time period occurs while the patient is undergoing a second therapy. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  wherein the first therapy comprises a first AED and the second therapy comprises second AED different than the first AED. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising displaying the seizure activity report to a physician for analysis. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the set of physiological signal data comprises EEG data for a time period of at least one week. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the set of physiological signal data comprises EEG data or a time period of at least one month. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the set of physiological signal data is collected after the patient has experienced head trauma. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said processing the set of physiological signal data with the seizure detection algorithm to detect the plurality of seizure events is performed using an external device carried by the patient. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said processing the set of physiological signal data with the seizure detection algorithm to detect the plurality of seizure events is performed using an external device carried by the patient. 
     
     
         25 . A computer system for analyzing seizure activity, comprising:
 storage for storing a set of physiological signal data collected on an ambulatory basis using a device implanted in a patient, said set of physiological signal data comprising EEG data containing a plurality of seizure events;   processor configured to process the set of physiological signal data with a seizure detection algorithm to detect the plurality of seizure events and operate report generation software to generate a seizure activity report, said seizure activity report comprising seizure activity metrics.