This is an NIH sponsored trial across the US where patients who have been or will be implanted with cervical vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) are then tested in a variety of ways to determine the activity of the VNS on different organs in their body. This will involve implantation for those who qualify, and then two trips to the University of Minnesota for more extensive testing. The device, implantation and travel are all at no cost.

This research study is being done to see the effectiveness and safety of a new drug called BHV-7000 as a possible treatment for focal seizures for patients who are taking anti-seizure medications (ASMs) and still experience seizures. Participation in this study is expected to last approximately 18 to 20 weeks, or about 4 months.

This study is being done to understand whether a different type of electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring that permits longer monitoring is able to capture more seizures than regular EEG monitoring, and whether this new type of monitoring will improve clinical care. This type of EEG monitoring (REMI) is currently cleared by the United States Government Food and Drug Administration (or FDA) for use in hospitals but not yet cleared to be used at home.
Eligible subjects who have EEG monitoring scheduled with either a 3-day EEG monitoring performed at home or with a 3-day EEG monitoring schedule at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Subjects are in the study for approximately 4 weeks and will need to come to the study center for one or two visits. They will be asked to wear 4 of Epitel's REMI Sensors on their head, in addition to the regular EEG electrodes, for two 2-week REMI EEG monitoring periods. A 2nd visit (clinic visit) at MUSC may be needed if the recording is at MUSC, in order to start the second REMI EEG monitoring session.
At the end of the study, three independent epileptologists will review the REMI EEG recordings and compile a report of any findings. They will then provide this report to the subject's neurologist who will assess the value of the additional EEG information, and save the report within the MUSC medical record.

The purpose of this study is to understand whether there may be certain characteristics or patterns that might predict seizure events in patients undergoing EEG monitoring and at home. Researchers will also be assessing the comfort and usability of a new device called NextSense EEG earbud device at the same time as routine inpatient epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU) admissions, as well as device use in the home environment. In order to enroll in the at-home extension, the participant must be enrolled in the inpatient EMU admission portion of the study. Participants will be asked to assess their mood, sleep quality, and the comfort and usability of the device during their inpatient admission at regular intervals. If participating in the at-home extension, these same assessment questionnaires, in addition to a seizure diary, will be completed by participants at regular intervals.

This study aims to improve access of Veterans with epilepsy living in rural areas to the most important diagnostic procedure for the care of patients with epilepsy: the routine electroencephalogram (EEG). We will test a new method for recording EEG which uses a novel dry electrode system headset that does not require an EEG technologist to operate. The headset integrates the EEG electrodes and amplifier into a compact system which is easily placed on the head. This approach could make it possible for a nurse or nurse assistant with minimal training to record an EEG in a rural community based outpatient clinic (CBOC) as part of an epilepsy telemedicine outreach program along with clinical interviews. We will compare performance of this dry electrode system to standard EEG when it is used by EEG technologists in three VA medical centers. This project has the potential to improve access of Veterans to the EEG procedure and decrease cost to the Veterans Health Care System.