7 April, 2026
St James's Hospital recently had the first insertion of an ultralong EEG recording device. This was a collaboration between Clinical Neurophysiology, Neurology and Plastic Surgery designed to learn more about and treat epilepsy.
Dr Yvonne Langan, Consultant Clinical Neurophysiologist, said "People with epilepsy have recurrent seizures. The diagnosis is primarily clinical, routine EEG can be useful, but in most cases doesn’t capture an event. Prolonged monitoring is not readily available and is expensive. The success or otherwise of epilepsy treatment is judged on the adequacy of seizure control. We know that patients and their families are not always aware of the true number of events or may not record them accurately."
Ultralong EEG is a very new development where a subcutaneous recording device implanted over the right or left temple can record localised EEG data continuously for up to three years. This technology will only ever be useful for a very limited number of patients but for that small number may prove invaluable in the management of their epilepsy by providing a true reflection of seizure burden which may influence management decisions.
Dr Yvonne Langan, Dr Elisabeth Doran, Consultant Neurologist and Ms Marlese Dempsey, Consultant Plastic Surgeon were all recently involved in the first implantation of an ultralong EEG device in St James’s Hospital. Ms Dempsey is the first surgeon in Ireland, who is not a neurosurgeon, to have implanted ultralong EEG.
Dr Langan can now monitor EEG activity on a daily basis and determine an accurate seizure frequency. This initiative was supported by Consultant Innovation Funding awarded to the Department of Clinical Neurophysiology.