Our Technology at Illinois Magnetoencephalography (MEG) Center at Alexian Brothers Neurosciences Institute 

Alexian Brothers Hospital Network is proud to be one of only twenty institutions in the U.S. to offer clinical MEG services, and it is the only such program in Illinois.  Our MEG Center routinely evaluates patients referred by neurologists and neurosurgeons from across the country. Patients from all over the world and in our region have come to our MEG Center to benefit from this innovative imaging technology.

Led by Medical Directors and Manager with more than 40 years of combined experience with clinical MEG and staffed by a team of specialized technologists and scientists, the Illinois MEG Center provides top-notch diagnostic evaluations in a patient-friendly community hospital environment.

The Illinois MEG Center offers patients access to brain imaging technology and expertise that's the equal of some of the nation's most elite medical institutions. We have strong working relationships with local academic medical centers.

Our MEG system has been specially equipped for both adult and pediatric patients. We offer general anesthesia services, if needed, for adult and pediatric patients.

The Illinois MEG Center houses a 306-channel whole-head MEG system with capabilities for recording 64-channels of simultaneous EEG data. Together MEG and EEG are used to map out control centers for critical brain functions, and for the localization of epileptic activity.

For patients with brain tumors or vascular malformations, MEG is typically used to map out the location of critical control centers for functions like motor control, touch, hearing, sight, language and memory. The specific functions to be evaluated will depend on the location of the brain lesion. In most cases, an additional set of MRI examinations will need to be performed. These may include both structural and functional MRI, and perhaps MRI spectroscopy (especially if there is a question of tumor invasion into nearby tissue).