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Each year more than 375 adults and children are admitted to the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) at VCU Medical Center. This state-of-the-art unit is specially designed to allow our neurological specialists the ability to better evaluate, diagnose and treat seizures in people of all ages. The Epilepsy Monitoring Unit is one of the few programs that uses dense array electroencephalogram (EEG). This type of EEG uses many more electrodes than conventional EEG to measure brain activity. Additionally, our center uses Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), a noninvasive test, to assist in seizure management and pre-surgical planning.
Our EEG laboratory and Epilepsy Monitoring Unit is the largest and most advanced in the region and has been given a Level 4 accreditation by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers. Our EMG laboratory is also accredited by the American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM), one of only a few in the state of Virginia.
When surgery is the best course of treatment for seizures, our leading surgeons can either remove or isolate the area of the brain that causes seizures, using the following procedures: