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Updated: Nov 8, 2025
Reliable Acquisition of Electroencephalography Data during Simultaneous Electroencephalography and Functional MRI
Published on: March 19, 2021
Spurious electroencephalographic activity due to pulsation artifact in the depth of anesthesia monitor
Kotoe Kamata1, Tarmo Lipping2, Arvi Yli-Hankala3,4
1Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Tohoku University School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai-shi, Miyagi, 980-8575, Japan. kotoe.kamata.c3@tohoku.ac.jp.
Background:
The depth of anesthesia (DOA) is estimated based on the anesthesia-induced electroencephalogram (EEG) changes. However, the surgical environment, as well as the patient him/herself, generates electrical interferences that cause EEG waveform distortion.
Case Presentation:
A 52-year-old patient required general anesthesia due to the right femur necrotizing fasciitis. He had no history of epilepsy or head injury. His cardiovascular status was stable without arrhythmia under propofol and remifentanil anesthesia. The DOA was evaluated with Root® with SedLine® Brain Function Monitoring (Masimo Inc, Irvine, CA). The EEG showed a rhythmic, heart rate time-locked pulsation artifact, which diminished after electrode repositioning. Offline analysis revealed that the pulse wave-like interference in EEG was observed at the heart rate frequency.
Conclusions:
We experienced an anesthesia case that involves a pulsation artifact generated by the superficial temporal artery contaminating the EEG signal. Numerous clinical conditions, including pulsation artifact, disturb anesthesia EEG.
