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Aspect Medical Systems, Inc., Newton, MA
To the Editor:
The recent study by Muncaster et al. (1) attempted to compare the performance of several electroencephalogram (EEG) measures during recovery from an opioid-based anesthetic. Unfortunately, this study used an obsolete monitor and Bispectral Index (BIS) version, and the improper electrode placement (Fp1-F7 and Fp2-F8) was not the montage utilized in previous BIS validation studies and, equally importantly, is not the montage specified by the manufacturer for derivation of the BIS calculation (24). Since artifact processing, feature estimation, and suppression detection methods are sensitive to electrode placement, different values may be obtained when incorrect electrode placements are used (5). In this case, the short interelectrode distance used by these investigators resulted in the very small amplitude signal resembling suppression observed in some patients. The misplacement of EEG electrodes for BIS calculation is akin to misplacing ECG electrodes for a device that estimates ST-elevation/depression within a specified ECG lead. To address this improper electrode placement issue, in 19985 full years agoAspect Medical Systems introduced specific BIS sensors to facilitate proper signal acquisition. The comparative results presented in this paper do not accurately reflect the performance of the current commercially available BIS products.
References
Waikato Clinical School, Waikato Hospital, Hamilton, New Zealand
In Response:
We thank Dr. Manberg for his interest in our paper. We agree that close placement of scalp EEG electrodes will tend to result in smaller observed voltages. We had used a bipolar montage because we were interested in interhemispheric EEG correlations. However (as we had already mentioned in the discussion in our article), we commonly see the same phenomenon when using the more modern Aspect A-2000 monitor; with the recommended placement of the commercially-available, disposal, EEG electrode strip. We conclude that the phenomenon is not purely the result of the montage, and that practicing anesthesiologists should be cognizant of potential inaccuracies when using the BIS to titrate remifentanil-based general anaesthesia.
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