Recent research has found that brain maps may aid doctors who are performing epileptic surgeries. This new technique may also help doctors to better plan for treatments in epileptics. The study was conducted by lead author Simon Fraser University neuroscientist Dr. Ryan D’Arcy. The results of this study, which utilized magnetoencephalography (MEG), have been published in the journal Human Brain Mapping and appear on the journal’s August cover.

During the study, D’Arcy and his team used MEG technology to create detailed spatial maps of critical language functions that help doctors to properly plan ahead before surgery, which is supposed to help the patients experience better post-operative outcomes. What the cover image shows doctors is where the seizure activity is happening in each patients before they have surgery, which should assist doctors in removing the area safely. Doing so would help the patients be seizure-free after the surgery.

“When carrying out brain surgery it’s imperative not only to determine where the areas are to treat but whether the critical regions that carry out higher functions like language and memory will be affected,” says D’Arcy, a professor in SFU’s schools of engineering and computing sciences who also holds the Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation B.C. Leadership Chair in Multimodal Technology for Healthcare Innovation at Surrey Memorial Hospital.

The brain mapping technology makes sense in terms of aiding doctors in knowing exactly what to remove during surgery, but this technology may also help to reduce or get rid of the need for patients to have to take potentially-harmful prescription drugs like Topamax. Topamax has been linked to an increased risk of suicide and suicidal thoughts as well as birth defects in women whose babies are exposed to the drug in-utero. Some of those birth defects linked to Topamax use during pregnancy include cleft lips, cleft palates, genital defects and other birth malformations.

If your baby was born with birth defects after in-utero exposure to Topamax, contact attorney Greg Jones today for a free consultation. I am experienced at fighting Topamax lawsuits and may be able to help you recover money for your child’s injuries.