The Wada test is typically used as a follow-up to video EEG monitoring in epilepsy patients who are considering surgical intervention to address their seizures. The name “Wada” is not actually an acronym but is the physician's name who first performed it – Dr. Juhn Wada. This is a four-to-five hour, outpatient test to provide information regarding how close a patient’s seizure focus is to areas of the brain that are essential to speech and memory. The test begins with an angiography procedure, where a thin catheter device is threaded from an artery in the groin area up to the area to be examined, and X-rays are taken following the injection of a fluoroscopic material. Next, one side of the brain is anesthetized, which results in the opposite side of the body losing all strength for up to 15 minutes. During this time, the patient is asked to perform certain tasks such as reading, identifying shapes and answering questions in order to assess their speech and memory. This test may be repeated on the other side of the brain as well. Patients can usually go home within five hours of undergoing the WADA procedure.
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