A Patient-specific Approach for Short-term Epileptic Seizures Prediction through the Analysis of EEG synchronization

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder arising from anomalies of the electrical activity in the brain, affecting about 65 millions individuals worldwide. Objective: This work proposes a patient-specific approach for short-term prediction (i.e., within few minutes) of epileptic seizures. Methods: We use noninvasive EEG data, since the aim is exploring the possibility of developing a noninvasive monitoring/control device for the prediction of seizures. Our approach is based on finding synchronization patterns in the EEG that allow to distinguish in real time preictal from interictal states. In practice, we develop easily computable functions over a graph model to capture the variations in the synchronization, and employ a classifier for identifying the preictal state. Results: We compare two state-of-the-art classification algorithms and a simple and computationally inexpensive threshold-based classifier developed ad hoc. Results on publicly available scalp EEG database and on data of the patients of the Unit of Neurology and Neurophysiology at University of Siena show that this simple and computationally viable processing is able to highlight the changes in synchronization when a seizure is approaching. Conclusion and significance: The proposed approach, characterized by low computational requirements and by the use of noninvasive techniques, is a step toward the development of portable and wearable devices for real-life use.