One in three children with epilepsy will have seizures which are not controlled by medication. They suffer a lifetime of uncontrolled fits, injuries and reduced quality of life. There is also an increased risk of sudden death from epilepsy if seizures are not controlled. Many lack of effective treatment options.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a new treatment where fine wires are placed into a particular brain area called the thalamus and electrical current is delivered to block seizures. DBS for focal epilepsy has shown promising results but current approaches target the same region of the thalamus in all individuals. However, different regions of the thalamus may be involved in different people. Personalised targeting of the best region for each person will therefore yield the best results.

In this fellowship, I will analyse data from clinical research studies we are running at Great Ormond Street Hospital and UCL’s Institute of Child Health to improve treatment of childhood epilepsy through four projects:

1) We are currently running the TRICS study, recording electrical activity and stimulation response from three different regions of the thalamus. I will be able to analyse these data to identify the most involved region of the thalamus from non-invasive MRI scans. I will validate these findings using large datasets of children (and adults) with epilepsy who are part of an existing research project, MELD.

3) We will subsequently run the CADET-F study to assess the effectiveness of personalised DBS for epilepsy. I will be able to analyse EEG signals to identify the best stimulation settings for each person.

Through this work, I will develop the evidence for a new treatment for epilepsy in children. It paves the way to wider adoption within the NHS and internationally. There is also an exciting opportunity to apply the same framework to other brain disorders.