(R) Dr. Paul Onek the chairperson GRRH chairperson with Gulu University and hospital staff joyful over the EEG Machine. Photo by Robert Ojok Mone
By Robert Ojok Mone
Gulu: Gulu Mental Health Unit will soon start using a computerized Electroencephalogram (EEG) machine to diagnose various mental, brain, and neurological diseases.
The machine worth shs60m, was donated by Mayo Clinic Arizona, USA.
According to Mayo Clinic, an EGG diagnosis is a test that measures electrical activity in the brain using small, metal discs or electrodes attached to the scalp. The brain cells then communicate through electrical stimuli which are active throughout. The brain activity is shown by wavy lines on the EEG recorder.
The machine also diagnoses or treats brain tumors, brain damage from brain injury, sleep disorders, inflammation of the brain, stroke, and brain dysfunction. It can also be used to confirm brain death in patients with persistent coma and the level of anesthesia in someone in a medically induced coma.
This week, Gulu University donated a set of computerized EEG machines to Gulu Regional Referral Hospital (GRRH).
Dr. Olum, also a specialist in using EEG, said Gulu Hospital, a teaching hospital of Gulu University, will train medical students and staff of the Mental Health Unit on how to operate the machine. While he operates the machine and interprets its diagnosis results.
The machine will be used to detect different mental and brain diseases such as epilepsy, brain injuries, dementia, brain tumors, and cases of nodding syndrome.
Dr. Olum disclosed that the machine can diagnose eight patients daily and last for more than 10 years if well managed.
He, however, asked the hospital authority to have a power backup, because the machine works well with steady power.
Walter Uryekwun, the principal hospital administrator, said this equipment will support the CT scan in proper diagnosis of mental health and brain-related illnesses.
“This machine will help specifically our mental health unit where we have several clients who come in to measure their mental capacity and detect factors for exhibiting particular health behavior,” Uryekwun said.
Uryekwun said the machine would be installed near the mental health unit, within two months. In the meantime, the hospital is seeking shs 200m to modify the room for installing the machine.
Dr. Paul Onek, the chairperson of the Board of Governors at GRRH, said the donation is part of the fulfillment of the memorandum the hospital has with Gulu University in training and exchanging staff.
Dr. Onek said the hospital will rely on the staff at Gulu University to operate the machine because the hospital is not planning to recruit a specialized one to operate it.
“This development is a call to the Ministry of Health to recruit more staff not only to manage the machine, but other specialized staff like a neurologist and psychiatrists to improve the health service,” Dr. Onek said.
According to a 2020 article published by the Duke Global Health Institute, EGG is the most critical exam for diagnosing neurological conditions such as epilepsy.
“While it is estimated that roughly 700,000 Ugandans are living with epilepsy, very few have had an EGG, and only a handful of clinicians in the country can perform the exam,” the article reads in part.
Over the years, patients in Gulu who suffer from epilepsy and other ailments that require EGG diagnosis have been referred to Mulago or Butabika for the test.
It is on record that Uganda has only five neurologists trained to deal with epilepsy. This implies that each neurologist attends to 140,000 patients. At GRRH, medics attend to 1.9 million clients annually. Of these, 800 suffer from various mental health and neurological illnesses such as epilepsy
