The authors investigated in a group of 68 patients aged 3 months to 65 years (mean 25 years) suffering from temporal epilepsy the yield of dipole analysis using the Focus programme. All were potential candidates of epileptosurgical treatment, in 60 instances epilepsy of the lesional and in 8 instances of the non-lesional type. In patients with lesional epilepsy satisfactory agreement between topography of the dipole and a hemispheric or lobar localization of the organic lesion was proved, assessed by magnetic resonance. The dipole was projected into the correct hemisphere in 57 of 60 patients (95%) and in 54 (90%) into the correct lobe. In 23 patients with mesiotemporal sclerosis the authors compared the localization of dipoles with the assumed temporo-polar or temporo-basal maximum of specific manifestations. In 69.8% however the dipole was projected into the anterior or posterior temporal neocortex and even in the most sensitive connection the ratio of correctly located samples did not exceed 50%. As regards a more accurate localization of the dipole in the area of the temporal lobe the method did not prove useful. Also on comparison of results of dipole analysis in the Focus programme with interictal findings assembled during invasive exploration, in 29 patients it was revealed that the Focus programme cannot differentiate sufficiently accurately between mesiotemporal and neocortical discharges. The relatively smallest scatter of findings was recorded in neocortical f oci – the sensitivity of the method was 76.5% – however in foci with a different localization the results of dipole analysis were useless from the practical aspect.

        Key words: dipole, dipole analysis, source analysis, Focus software, epilepsy, electroencephalography