A board-certified neurosurgeon, Robert Buchanan, MD, leads as chief of the Division of Neurosurgery as well as the Chief of functional neurosurgery and neuroscience at the Seton Brain & Spine Institute in Austin, Texas. He also holds an appointment as Associate Professor in Surgery and Psychiatry at the Dell Medical School at UT Austin. In this role, Dr. Robert Buchanan oversees the surgical treatment of epilepsy and other neurological disorders. The Seton-Dell Medical School Epilepsy program is the only Level 4 (highest distinction)Epilepsy Center in Central Texas.
In late 2015, researchers at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom announced the development of a modeling technique that may increase the effectiveness of epilepsy surgery. Such interventions involve the excision of the brain tissue responsible for seizures, the identification of which requires electroencephalogram (EEG) readings taken during an active seizure. Presently, this process has a success rate of approximately 70 percent.
If successful, the new model would allow surgeons to model a patient's brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). This data simulates electrical activity in a particular brain, which in turn allows surgeons to visualize abnormalities and the location in which such abnormalities originate. In laboratory testing, surgical excision based on these results enabled healthy electrical activity in 100 percent of cases. Researchers intend to continue the investigative process in the hopes that this model might support effective surgical intervention while minimizing the need for mid-seizure EEG scanning.
A board-certified neurosurgeon, Robert Buchanan, MD, leads as chief of the Division of Neurosurgery as well as the Chief of functional neurosurgery and neuroscience at the Seton Brain & Spine Institute in Austin, Texas. He also holds an appointment as Associate Professor in Surgery and Psychiatry at the Dell Medical School at UT Austin. In this role, Dr. Robert Buchanan oversees the surgical treatment of epilepsy and other neurological disorders. The Seton-Dell Medical School Epilepsy program is the only Level 4 (highest distinction)Epilepsy Center in Central Texas.
