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Updated: Feb 28, 2026
Brain Source Imaging in Preclinical Rat Models of Focal Epilepsy using High-Resolution EEG Recordings
Published on: June 6, 2015
Real-time imaging of epileptic seizures in rats using electrical impedance tomography
Lei Wang1, Yang Sun, Xinmin Xu
1aSchool of Aerospace Medicine bDepartment of Biomedical Engineering cDepartment of Medical Engineering, the 323rd Hospital of the PLA dDepartment of Neurosurgery in Tangdu Hospital, the Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
Abstract:
The presence of multiple or diffuse lesions on imaging is a contraindication to surgery for patients with intractable epilepsy. Theoretically, as a functional imaging technique, electrical impedance tomography (EIT) can accurately image epileptic foci. However, most current studies are limited to examining epileptic spikes and few studies use EIT for real-time imaging of seizure activity. Moreover, little is known about changes in electrical impedance during seizures. In this study, we used EIT to monitor seizure progression in real time and analyzed changes in electrical impedance during seizures. EIT and electroencephalography data were recorded simultaneously in rats. Sixty-three seizures were recorded from the cortices of eight rats. During 54 seizures, the average impedance decreased by between 4.86 and 9.17% compared with the baseline. Compared with the control group, the average impedance of the experimental group decreased significantly (P=0.004). Our results indicate that EIT can be used to detect and image electrical impedance reduction within lesions during epileptic seizures.
