A simultaneous comparison of acupuncture needle and insulated needle sphenoidal electrodes for detection of anterior temporal spikes.

Uninsulated acupuncture needles have been used as sphenoidal electrodes, but the issue of insulation has not been adequately addressed. In this report, acupuncture needles and insulated needle sphenoidal electrodes were simultaneously used to compare the rate of spike detection, spike amplitude and distribution of maximal spikes from eight spike foci in seven patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. When compared to the insulated needle electrode, the acupuncture needle electrode was equally effective in spike detection, but spike amplitudes tended to be smaller and maximal spikes were less frequently encountered. Thus, insulation has an influence on the spikes recorded by the acupuncture needle sphenoidal electrode. However, the overall effect appears to be not sufficiently different from the insulated needle electrode for the purpose of detecting anterior temporal spikes in outpatient EEG recordings for the diagnosis of temporal lobe epilepsy.