T13. ICU nurses are able to acquire clinical grade stat EEG within minutes using a novel EEG system

Abstract

Introduction Historically, registered EEG technicians have managed traditional EEG devices, with limited availability. In this study, we evaluated the ease of use and reliability of a novel FDA-cleared Ceribell EEG system that is designed to provide high-quality and durable EEG information within minutes without dependence on EEG specialized technicians for set up. This study was designed to determine if nurses can be empowered to quickly and effectively obtain a patient’s EEG using this novel system. Methods Ten ICU nurses were prospectively recruited from teaching and community hospital settings to obtain EEG data in healthy volunteers after 4-min of video training. Volunteers had different hair lengths and head sizes and completed EEG recordings at 4 (n = 4), 6 (n = 4) and 8 (n = 2) hours. The initial 10 min of each EEG was compared to the last 10 min of the EEG in electrode impedance, 60 Hz noise, and number of EEG artifacts per unit of time (defined as samples outside of mean ± 6 standard deviation). These values were statistically compared using Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results Average set-up time was 6:31(Min:Sec, median 6:20) with subjective user experience rating of 9.8 (1 = Horrible and 10 = Terrific). The quantitative analysis demonstrated satisfactory impedance levels (Initial: 6.32KOhm; End: 7.59 KOhm, p = 0.49) and artifact counts (Initial: 0.41; End: 0.47, p = 0.43). Power of 60 Hz noise was also satisfactory and not different from initial to end segment of the EEG (Initial: 13.2; End: 8.0, p = 0.3). Conclusion This prospective evaluation among a cohort of ICU nurses conveys a significantly shortened set-up time with a high level of satisfaction with product experience and ease of use, and no compromise in quality of EEG within 4–8 h. These results suggest that ICU nurses can reliably acquire high quality EEG within minutes which can provide important diagnostic information to clinicians taking care of critically ill patients at risk for subclinical seizures especially non-convulsive status epilepticus.