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Neurophysiology Lab

The Neurophysiology Lab provides diagnostic testing for children and youth, including:

  • EEG (Electro-encephalograms)
  • Evoked potentials
  • Electromyography and nerve conduction studies

About Our Team

We have a team of six EEG Technologists who work in close collaboration with the wider Neurology Team and support both outpatient and inpatient diagnostic testing, including for the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit.

Information for Children, Youth and Families

Please sign-up for a MyChart account, prior to your first visit.

Our scheduling team will call you to schedule an appointment.

Review the information below on how to prepare for your upcoming diagnostic test (EEG, EMG or EP) by clicking the links below. 

Missed Appointments and Late Cancellations
CHEO is committed to providing timely care for children, youth, and families. If this is your first appointment in a clinic or department and you miss two appointments without giving at least 48 hours’ notice, your referral will be returned to the care provider who submitted it. They can then follow up with you to confirm whether you still need or wish to proceed with the referral.

We understand life happens and unforeseen events come up. Please notify us as early as possible by calling 613-737-7600 x2222 — ideally at least 48 hours in advance — if you need to cancel or reschedule. This helps us offer the appointment to another family and keep wait times as short as possible. A cancellation 48 hours or more in advance will not count as a missed appointment.

Please arrive 10-15 minutes before your scheduled appointment time in case there are delays with parking or finding the clinic and to complete any required paperwork. We cannot always accommodate late arrivals and if you miss your appointment time, we may have to reschedule.

We are located in Clinic A on the first floor.

What is an EEG?

An EEG records "brain waves" on a computer. It doesn't hurt and has no side effects. It gives us information about brain activity and can help us decide if there is a problem. We also use EEGs to monitor children and youth with brain conditions like seizures. It usually takes about an hour.

How do we prepare your child for the EEG?

On the morning of the test, wash your child's hair. Don't use gel, mousse or hairspray. Your child can eat as usual but should not have anything with caffeine in it (like Coke, Pepsi, coffee, tea or energy drinks). Make sure your child uses the washroom before you come into the lab.

What about medications?

Give your child or youth all prescribed medications on the day of the EEG, unless your doctor tells you not to.

Sleeping and napping instructions

Routine EEG (4-18 years)

  • Sleep and nap as usual

Routine and sleep deprived EEG (0-3 years)

  • Morning appointment: no morning nap. No nap during the drive to CHEO. Feed your child as usual.
  • Afternoon appointment: if your child has a morning nap, don’t let your child sleep for more than 20 minutes. No afternoon nap or sleeping during the drive to CHEO.

Sleep deprived EEG

  • We will record brain activity while your child sleeps. Bring anything that usually helps your child fall asleep.
  • 3-5 years: put your child to bed 2 hours later than usual and wake your child at 5 AM. No napping during the drive to CHEO.
  • 6-18 years: have your child or youth go to bed 2 hours later than usual and wake your child at 4 AM. No nap during the drive to CHEO.

Prolonged EEG

  • This will record events not captured in the routine EEG. Your child can sleep and nap as usual. We will give your child lunch.

Ambulatory EEG

  • This is a portable EEG that you will take home with you in a small backpack to record any seizures. Your child should carry on with everyday activities. You will come back the next day to remove the disks and wires. Your child can sleep and nap as usual.

What will happen during the EEG?

For the EEG:

  • Your child or teen will rest quietly on a bed.

  • We will measure your child's head, and then stick small disks to your child's head using a soft paste. We attach these disks (electrodes) to the EEG computer to record brain activity. No needles are used.

  • We will video tape your child during the EEG, so we can match his brain activity to any movements he makes.

  • If your child is old enough, we'll ask her to open and close her eyes and take some deep breaths. We may also have your child look at some bright lights.

  • Your child can bring a favourite toy or blanket and wear comfortable clothing.

What happens after the EEG?

Please don't drive if you have stayed awake with your child for a sleep deprived EEG. Arrange for a safe ride home. Your child's hair may have some leftover paste in it. You can remove this easily with a damp washcloth. Results are usually ready in about 2 weeks.

What is an EMG?

An EMG has 2 parts:

  1. Nerve Conduction Studies (NCS) to check the way nerves carry electrical signals.
  2. EMG (electro-myogram) to check muscles. Doctors only do this part if it is needed.

How do we prepare our child for the EMG?

Make sure your child or teen has a bath or shower the morning of the EMG.

What will happen during the EMG?

Nerve Conduction Studies (NCS):

This may be the only part that your child or teen needs. This test does not cause any health risks. It will take about an hour. For this part of the test, we will:

  • Tape special wires to the skin

  • Stimulate the nerve we are testing with a quick, electrical shock. This feels like the shock you sometimes get when you touch a door knob after walking on a carpet.

EMG (may not be needed):

The doctor will use a very thin needle to check the muscles we want to know about. The needle is a lot like the ones used for acupuncture (much smaller than needles used for blood tests). With this test:

  • There will be some mild discomfort when the needle is placed-it will feel like a mosquito bite.

  • The needle will stay in place for 10-30 seconds to pick up any problems with the electrical signals in the muscle.

  • The number of muscles checked depends on your child or teen's medical problem.

  • Children or teens with bleeding disorders have a risk of bleeding.

What is an Evoked Potentials (EP) test?

EPs test the nerve pathways in the spinal cord and brain. We test 3 types of EPs:

  • Visual Evoked Potential (VER): checks nerve pathways from the eyes.
  • Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potential (BAER): checks nerve pathways from the ears.
  • Somato-sensory Evoked Potential (SSEP): checks pathways from the arms and legs.

During EP testing, we send quick signals to a nerve, and use a special computer to record the brain's response.

How do we prepare our child for this test?

Children and youth need to lie very still for about an hour during this test. If you feel your child will not be able to lie still for that long, let your doctor know. Children sometimes need to be admitted to our day surgery unit so that they can have the test under sedation (special sleep medication).

Please wash your child's hair the day before the test. Do not use gel, mousse, hairspray or oil.

What will happen during the Evoked Potentials test?

For this test, we will stick wires on your child's head, neck and back with a soft, washable paste. We do not use any needles or radiation, and there are no side effects. Your child will need to lie very still during this test.

Visual EPs

  • Babies and some children: will wear special goggles that show flashing lights.

  • Older children: will look at checkerboard squares that switch back and forth from black to white on a TV screen.

Auditory EPs

  • For this test, your child will listen to clicking sounds through earphones.

Sensory EPs

For this test, we will stimulate the nerve we are testing with a quick, electrical shock. This feels like the shock you sometimes get when you touch a door knob after walking on a carpet.

After your test is complete, we will review the results and send them to the doctor who ordered the test. It usually takes about two weeks for the doctor to get the results. Your doctor will share the results with you – please don’t call our lab for results. If you would like us to send the results to another doctor, you can go to our Health Records department and sign a release form.

Frequently asked questions

All patients must be referred by a Physician or Nurse Practitioner. The wait time can vary based on demand and urgency. Once we have an appointment spot to offer, our Scheduling Team will call you to schedule an appointment.

  • For any emergency, call 911. This includes emergencies involving your child’s neurological problem.
  • For patients who are being followed by the Neurology Clinic: For patients who have seen a CHEO Neurologist, call your Nurse Case Manager or send a direct message to them through MyChart. This is not for urgent calls. Our nurses are here to give support, education and will work to coordinate your child’s care. It may take 3-5 days for us to get back to you (and sometimes longer during holidays). We will return the most serious calls first. Please avoid leaving multiple messages for the same issue.
  • For patients who are waiting for their first visit with the Neurology Clinic: Please do not call the nurses’ line if you have not yet been seen by a CHEO Neurologist. Please call your family doctor, pediatrician or visit your nearest walk-in clinic for everything else.

Sign up for MyChart to access your CHEO health record anywhere, any time.
MyChart is a secure, online patient portal that connects you to parts of your CHEO electronic health record and allows you to send two-way secure communication to your care team, complete any questionnaires your care team sends and much more.

To learn more about MyChart and sign up, visit our MyChart page and fill out the MyChart Access Request Form.

Information for Healthcare Providers

Make a Referral

Our clinic is now accepting e-referrals with Ocean!

If you’re already on Ocean, look us up via your account by searching "CHEO."
If you don’t yet have an Ocean account, no problem - signing up is free.

Make a referral in Ocean

 

 

All patients must be referred by a Physician or Nurse Practitioner. You can make an e-referral using Ocean, or mail or fax the referral form to us.

Neurophysiology referral form

Contact us 

Neurology Clinic (C-A), CHEO 
401 Smyth Road 
Ottawa ON K1H 8L1 
Fax: 613-738-4879 

Have you registered for MyChart?

MyChart is a free, secure, online patient portal that connects patients to parts of their CHEO electronic health record, anywhere, at any time. 

MyChart