Intelligence Computing Approaches for Epileptic Seizure Detection Based on Intracranial Electroencephalogram (IEEG)

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder and can be defined as a symptom where a sudden and transient disturbance occurs in the normal electrical activity of the brain (İnan & Kuntalp, 2007). Multiple factors can trigger epilepsy, such as brain injury, disease, light stimulation, and genetics. People may be born with the disorder; however, the exact underlying epilepsy mechanism is still uncertain. Epilepsy affects four to five percent of the world’s population at some point in their lives and 1% of the world’s population suffer from chronic epilepsy (Betts, 1998). According to the Epilepsy Foundation of America, more than two million people in the United States have a seizure disorder. In Taiwan, about 200 thousand people suffer from this disorder (Wang, 1998). Alarmingly, the death rate is unacceptably high, as epilepsy increases a person’s risk of premature death by about two to three times that of the non-epileptic population. The epilepsy-related death rate among patients is about 40%. Causes of death include the underlying disease in symptomatic epilepsy, sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), accidents during an epileptic attack, status epilepticus, suicide, and treatment-related death (Nouri & Balish, 2006). Hence, the unpredictability of seizures still overshadows the lives of most epilepsy patients. Treatment options for epilepsy may include surgery, a special diet, or a surgically implanted device which delivers electrical stimulation to the brain. According to the Epilepsy Foundation of America, seizures can be successfully controlled by appropriate medication such as anti-epileptic drugs or anti-convulsants in about 50% to 80% of cases. However, for patients who do not respond well to medication, surgery is the next best option. Due to the risks associated with the unpredictability of epilepsy, epileptic seizure detection is critically important to physicians. Nowadays, videoElectroencephalogram (EEG)monitoring is the gold standard for the diagnosis of epilepsy. EEG is the recording of electrical activity produced by the firing of neurons within the brain, and has long been used as a clinical test in the diagnosis and monitoring of epilepsy. Prior to surgery, intracranial electroencephalogram (IEEG) needs to be monitored in order to confirm the seizure zone. Unfortunately, analyzing these EEG recordings is a time-consuming task for neurology physicians, and patterns indicating epilepsy can sometimes be confused with 23