Electroencephalographic (EEG) Technologist

There is constant activity going on in our brains. Electric impulses are constatnly transmitted from the brain to various parts of our body and nervous system. Every thought, feeling and sensation is triggered in part by your brain. People with neurological disorders have difficulties and abnormalities with brain waves and need to be monitored by specialists. Electroencephalography (EEG) is a scientific field devoted to the recording and study of the brain's electrical activity. EEG technologists use an EEG machine to record the electrical impulses transmitted by the brain and nervous system.

EEGs are used to help diagnose and evaluate head trauma, stroke, infectious disease, brain tumors, sleeping disorders, epilepsy and other medical conditions. The EEG technologist is a trained health care worker responsible for recording a patient's EEG activity. They brief the patient about the procedure, gain consent and then take a patient's medical history. Then, the EEG technologist applies small electrodes to the patient's scalp that are connected to the electroencephalograph. When reading the EEG, the technologists know what normal and abnormal brain activities look like on an electroencephalogram.

An EEG machine can also measure the effects of infectious diseases on the brain, and also determine whether individuals with mental or behavioral problems have an organic impairment such as Alzheimer's disease. They can also diagnose cerebral death (brain death), the absence of brain activity, and assess the probability of recovery from a coma.

EEG technologists are now sometimes referred to as electroneurodiagnostic technologists, which is a newer title for the same position. Nevertheless, EEG technologists generally perform resting EEGs, meaning that the patient is very relaxed when the procedure is taking place. They must choose the most appropriate combination of instrument controls and electrodes to correct for mechanical or electrical interferences that come from somewhere other than the brain, such as eye movement or radiation from electrical sources.

More and more, technologists have been performing EEGs in the operating room, which requires that they understand anesthesia's effect on brain waves. For special procedure EEGs, technologists may secure electrodes to the chest, arm, leg or spinal column to record activity from both the central and peripheral nervous systems.

The EEG is valuable in diagnosing learning disabilities or adjustment problems in children. EEG information can help surgeons determine surgical treatment of epilepsy and can assure surgeons that the brain receives enough oxygen during surgery on the arteries. It also assists in the determination of irreversible brain death, which is an important issue in transplant technology and escalating medical costs. It is important for the EEG technologist to be aware of the emotional state of the patient. Although some EEG studies are performed on sleeping or unconscious patients, many are not.



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