Incidence of Slow Delta EEG Frequencies (0.1-1 Hz) Before Burst Suppression

Launched by INSEL GRUPPE AG, UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL BERN · Jun 12, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This study is looking at brain activity during general anesthesia, which is the medicine given to put patients to sleep during surgery. Researchers want to see if there is a specific pattern of slow brain waves just before the brain shows a state called "burst suppression," where brain signals go from quiet to active in bursts. Finding this pattern could help anesthesiologists give the right amount of anesthesia to keep patients safely asleep without giving too much.

The study will include patients who are 60 years or older, speak German well, and are having planned (not emergency) surgeries under general anesthesia lasting at least one hour. People having certain types of surgeries, like on the head or neck, or surgeries requiring them to lie in certain positions, won’t be able to join. If you take part, small sensors will be placed on your forehead to record your brain waves during anesthesia. This is painless and won’t change your treatment. The goal is to better understand how the brain behaves under anesthesia to improve patient safety.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • patients undergoing elective general anaesthesia, and
• • aged 60 or above, and
• • have a good comprehension of German, and
• • require a general anaesthesia length of at least 1 hour (to ensure that we can record enough good quality EEG signal).
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • patients undergoing head or neck surgery or surgery in prone or lateral decubitus position (due to the limited placement space on the forehead required for the two EEG electrode systems, limited access to the forehead during surgery), or
• • patients undergoing emergency surgery, operations only requiring local or regional anaesthesia with sedation, or
• • patients who cannot follow procedures, or have an inability to give consent, or
• • known participation in another human research project (ClinO/HRO) that may affect the objectives of this study.