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The Magnetoencephalography (MEG) Center

What is MEG?

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a powerful non-invasive tool that is designed to help doctors understand how your brain works in real time by examining its magnetic fields. Nebraska Medicine has a state of the art MEG scanner that can achieve this goal with the highest accuracy. The MEG scanner can show where seizures begin and identify which side of your brain controls speech, language, and other brain functions like vision, hearing, movement, and touch. This information is incredible valuable when planning epilepsy surgeries as well as brain tumor surgeries or other neurological conditions. 

Looking for expert epilepsy care? Call 800.922.0000 to schedule your appointment and start your path to better seizure control.

Advanced brain imaging to help you find answers

Whether you’ve had epilepsy for years or are exploring surgery for the first time, the MEG study can give your care team the precise information they need to create a safer, more personalized treatment plan. We care for both pediatric and adult patients.

We’re proud to be one of only about 30 clinical MEG centers in the country and the most active in the Midwest region.  

When is MEG helpful?

MEG can be especially helpful when brain activity needs to be evaluated with high accuracy. The following are some specific examples:

• An EEG doesn’t clearly show where seizures start.
• Brain scans give conflicting results.
• A patient has already had epilepsy surgery that was ineffective in controlling seizures.
• A brain tumor that is near parts of the brain that control speech or movement.

Conditions we help evaluate

MEG is used to support diagnosis and treatment for: 

• Epilepsy.
• Dementia.
• Movement disorders.
• Sleep issues (insomnia, excessive sleepiness).
• Traumatic brain injury.
• Brain development conditions.
• Hearing or vision-related brain issues.

Preparing for your MEG scan

To get the most accurate results:

• Avoid caffeine the day of your scan.
• Come well rested and ready to nap.
• You can eat and take your medications as usual.
• Arrive with clean, dry, natural hair with no products, makeup or metal accessories.

What to expect at your MEG appointment

Before your scan:

• A MEG technician will contact you to schedule your scan and walk you through what to expect.
• Instructions will be emailed in advance.
• If you have a vagus nerve stimulator (VNS), we’ll help you safely turn it off and back on.

On the day of your scan:

• The appointment lasts 2 to 2.5 hours.
• We’ll place a soft cap with EEG sensors on your head.
• You’ll lie comfortably on a table while the MEG scanner records your brain activity.
• You may nap for about an hour, then be asked to complete short tasks like moving your fingers or listening to sounds. Afterward, we’ll remove the cap and clean your hair.

After your visit:

Your results will be available to your care team within two weeks.

Why choose the Nebraska Medicine's MEG Center?

The Nebraska Medicine MEG center is part of our nationally recognized Level 4 epilepsy center. It offers MEG scans for both children and adults using a state-of-the-art technology that is available only at a handful epilepsy centers in the United States and the world. Our team includes neurologists, scientists and technologists who are trained in brain function mapping. We use MEG as part of epilepsy surgery planning and other neurological care. The center also uses a helium recycling system to help reduce environmental impact. Through the CONDA Center, we support research on early detection of dementia and Parkinson’s disease.