QEEG

Quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) is a non-invasive brain scan that can show us how your brain functions. QEEG measures your brain’s electrical activity and creates a ‘brain map,’ which provides insights to guide your treatment.

As one paper notes,

“The clinical application of QEEG is extensive, including neuropsychiatric disorders, epilepsy, stroke, dementia, traumatic brain injury, mental health disorders, and many others.”

Brain mapping with QEEG

You’ve probably heard of CT or MRI scans, which can tell us about any abnormalities in your brain structure.

But many common conditions like autism and ADHD relate to your brain’s function rather than its structure. We’re interested in how the different parts of your brain are developing and working together.

A QEEG scan can provide that information. It measures your brainwave patterns and shows how your brain operates compared to ‘normal values’ from a reference database.

What can a QEEG show?

A QEEG scan relies on large databases, artificial intelligence and machine learning to generate a brain map that informs your care.

Frontal lobe development

Brain maturity

Processing speed

Sensation, perception, cognition

Brain balance

Is one hemisphere more developed than the other?

Brain connectivity

May play a role in autism and ADHD

Brain development age

Compared to your actual age

Heart rate variability

Ability to adapt to changing environments

Stress levels

Influencing anxiety and depression

Dementia risk

By identifying acute cerebral microinfarcts

A QEEG cannot be used to diagnose conditions like autism or ADHD – we rely on other assessments for that. However, a QEEG can offer important insights into how your brain is working and those discoveries can be used to inform your treatment.

What does a QEEG brain scan involve?

It’s a relatively straightforward process from a patient perspective.

You’ll come into the clinic and sit in a comfortable chair while we place a special helmet on your head. This helmet features built-in electrodes, which can detect electrical activity within your brain.

With older QEEG devices, preparation and set up time could take up to an hour, with data being sent away before taking approx. 1 week to come back.

It’s much quicker and easier now. All you have to do is sit still for about 10 minutes, following our instructions about when to open and close your eyes. This short timeframe is ideal for children or patients who find it hard to stay still for longer investigations.

After that, the machine will analyse its findings and generate a comprehensive patient-friendly report with many diagrams and graphs to help you understand the information.

Newer QEEG devices (like ours!) also feature a built-in laser to target and treat weaker brain areas identified during the scan.