Enhancing migraine care and research through Telemedicine and telemonitoring: E-diary tracking and home EEG

New acute and preventive treatments have expanded migraine care options, highlighting the need for integrated, personalized management strategies. Telemedicine and telemonitoring support multidisciplinary approaches and are essential tools in optimizing patient outcomes.

This study aims to demonstrate the usability and user-friendliness of a validated E-diary and a self-administered electroencephalogram (EEG) telemonitoring setup for migraine care and research.

E-diary data were collected from adult migraine patients at the Leiden Headache Center to assess compliance, with patient satisfaction evaluated through questionnaires. In a separate component of the study, the user-friendliness of a home-based EEG setup for migraine research was examined. Participants completed two measurement sessions on different days, with varying intervals between sessions. Evaluation measures included the System Usability Scale (SUS), task completion time, electrode connection success, and overall user experience.

Migraine patients (n = 753) were followed for a median of 353 [IQR 128-697] days. Compliance was 96.7 % [IQR 88.1-99.6]. The E-diary received a median score of 7/10, 66.0 % of patients reported being (very) satisfied with the E-diary app. The EEG setup was tested by 20 participants and awarded a high SUS-score of 91.2 [IQR 86.2, 95.0].

Telemedicine and telemonitoring offer scalable, effective solutions for advancing both migraine care and research. Telemedicine with the E-diary may enhance personalized, integrated migraine care. Compliance and satisfaction with the E-diary are high. Self-administered telemonitoring using remote EEG setups demonstrates the feasibility of conducting complex studies in home-based settings.