Background
Monitoring the electroencephalographic (EEG) activity of patients undergoing surgery with general anesthesia can help to prevent adverse postoperative outcomes. Additionally, the recorded signals can be used to investigate different questions in the field of anesthesia research. For instance, it has been shown that oscillations in the range from 7 – 13 Hz (= Alpha Rhythm) during emergence from anesthesia may be protective, i.e. patients with more alpha oscillatory activity are less likely to face postoperative complications and patients that show intraoperative burst suppression patterns are more likely to do so. At our institution, we investigate the EEG dynamics in the perioperative period to develop strategies to optimize EEG-based patient monitoring.
Methods
To get started, the student can use our custom-built software to learn about the diversity of EEG dynamics during general anesthesia. Once familiarized, the student will use EEG data from our study to analyze and describe the perioperative EEG dynamics or during selected episodes like anesthesia emergence. Statistical analysis and graphical representation of results obtained would also be tasks for the student. The analytical work will include linear and nonlinear techniques and parameters in the frequency and time domain. For matters of comparability with published results, information regarding the power spectral density of the EEG, as well as spectral coherence, should be derived from our data set. We further plan for the student to apply entropic measures. We are also looking forward to discussing possible additional analytical approaches with the student.
Expected results and impact
We will have the student work on a recent research question using the mentioned analytical approaches. Because the topic will be of scientific interest, the findings will have an impact in our field of research.
Research team and environment
The student will work in an interdisciplinary research team that consists of clinicians, engineers, and basic researchers. Both supervisors have extensive experience in analyzing brain electrical activity to investigate and answer questions regarding the changes induced by anesthetics. The Department of Anaesthesiology at TUM is among the leading research institutions investigating patient EEG under general anesthesia. We are confident that the proposed research time is sufficient to master this project and prepare a high-quality poster for the TUM IC.
We are looking forward to receiving your application!
