Stanford Hospital & Clinics provides a full range of tools for diagnosing and localizing seizures.

Patients must be referred to the Stanford Comprehensive Epilepsy Center clinic by a physician who is familiar with their case. At the Stanford clinic, physicians and nurses specialists provide a full evaluation of patients with epilepsy, seizure disorders, and conditions that might comprise seizures, such as unexplained loss of consciousness or confusion episodes.

The clinical Epilepsy Center has an inpatient epilepsy unit dedicated entirely to diagnosis and treatment of problem seizures. 

Outpatient tests commonly performed in people with suspected seizure disorders include:

• blood tests
• electroencephalogram (EEG)
• CT scan or MRI 

Other specialized tests, used less often, include:

• lumbar puncture
• neuropsychological testing
• PET scans or angiography.