For many people living with epilepsy, medicines help keep seizures under control. But for nearly 30% of patients, seizures continue even after trying multiple medications. This condition is known as drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE), and it can deeply affect a person’s quality of life — making education, work, relationships, and even daily independence more difficult.
At Amrita Hospital, Kochi, doctors and researchers from Amrita Advanced Centre for Epilepsy have been working to solve this challenge — and now, their efforts have led to a breakthrough.
Introducing PASCOM: A Game-Changer in Epilepsy Surgery
The new method, PASCOM (PET Asymmetry after Anatomical Symmetrization Coregistered to MRI), was developed and patented at Amrita Hospital. It uses advanced brain imaging and artificial intelligence to pinpoint the seizure origin with high precision — even in patients whose regular MRI scans appear normal. Patented in both India and USA.
Unlike traditional methods that compare a patient’s brain to scans of healthy individuals (which can be costly and sometimes less reliable), PASCOM uses the patient’s own brain data — comparing the left and right sides of their brain after detailed alignment with MRI. This allows doctors to detect subtle but important differences, identifying the exact area responsible for seizures.
PASCOM — PET Asymmetry after Anatomical Symmetrization Coregistered to MRI —helps doctors pinpoint the exact area in the brain where seizures begin, which is crucial when planning epilepsy surgery.
This technique uses advanced brain imaging and compares the left and right sides of a patient’s own brain to detect small changes that might be missed otherwise. It works with PET and MRI scans and uses the patient’s own brain data — not someone else’s — to make the results more accurate and personalized.
PASCOM helps doctors see the hidden areas in the brain where seizures start, especially in patients whose regular scans look normal.
Why Is This Important?
Surgery can offer long-term seizure freedom for people with drug-resistant epilepsy — but only if doctors can accurately find the seizure’s starting point in the brain. Traditional methods sometimes miss subtle signs, especially in children and patients with normal MRI scans. This can make surgeries less effective or risky.
PASCOM is more precise. It offers:
- Better accuracy (over 85%)
- Lower costs (no need for comparison with healthy brain databases)
- Faster and easier use, even in hospitals without high-end technology
This makes epilepsy surgery safer, more successful, and more widely accessible — even in resource-limited hospitals.
Who Will Benefit from This?
- Patients with drug-resistant epilepsy
- Doctors planning epilepsy surgeries
- Families caring for children with epilepsy
- Medical centers across India and globally
The tool is already being tested in countries like the USA, Canada, Italy, France, and Bulgaria — showing its global potential.
This breakthrough innovation from Amrita Hospital is more than just a scientific win. It can make life better for thousands of people who are stuck with seizures that medicine cannot stop.By making advanced surgery planning more affordable and accurate, PASCOM can change the lives of patients in cities, towns, and villages alike — especially where expensive technology is not available.
