Medical device based on EEG

Acute encephalopathy is a severe and rapidly developing (very regular in hours to several days) pathobiological process (disorder/ substrate) in the human brain. Diagnosis is usually made using EEG (ElectroEncephalo-Graphy). Acute encephalopathy in many cases manifests itself in the form of delirium. Delirium is currently diagnosed using questionnaires  – based on  clinical presentation of the symptoms. This often doesn’t go well.

International guidelines and research shows that up to 88% of patients are missed with the current screening tools (source: Marcantonio, 2017, NEJM). 

All delirium guidelines endorse the importance of timely detection and daily monitoring. It has been proven that improved detection will lead to better patient outcomes, shorter hospitalizations and lower healthcare costs. 

Both conditions – acute encephalopathy and delirium – are always the result of an underlying cause! (sources: Slooter, 2020, Int. Care  Med; Hut, 2021 Psych.  Clin. Neurosci).  And it is essential that this underlying cause is determined and treated.

EEG (Electro-EncephaloGram) is the usual method of measuring electrical activity in the brain, mostly based on 21 channels. EEG has proven itself as a biomarker; EEGs of patients with acute encephalopathy and delirium clearly differ from EEGs of people without these complications.

DeltaScan’s 1-channel EEG shows that very significant difference as well (source: Van der Kooi et al., 2015,  Chest). Acute encephalopathy and delirium are characterized by high and strongly slowing in waves in the Delta spectrum of the EEG (sources: Van der Kooi et al., 2015, Chest/  Kimchi et al., 2019,  Neurology/Hut, 2021 Psych. Clin. Neurosci.).

These characteristic waves “polymorphic delta waves” (see Figure 1)
are absent in patients without acute encephalopathy or delirium (see Figure 2).

DeltaScan® Brain State Monitor determines whether a patient has polymorphic delta waves or not (objectively) and helps healthcare professionals determine whether their patients have acute encephalopathy or delirium -organ failure of the brain – or not.