For several years a team of neurologists, nurses and other caregivers have been helping care for individuals with epilepsy—a neurological disorder that causes repeated seizures—at the Seton Brain & Spine Institute and at a monitoring unit at University Medical Center Brackenridge. However, recent advancements in treatment options have allowed the team to offer a new variety of treatments in Central Texas.

Dr. Pradeep Modur became the medical director for Seton's Comprehensive Epilepsy Program in February.

Modur oversees the monitoring unit, which includes five beds, that allows his team of health care professionals to watch patients under 24-hour supervision during which time patients are observed and brain activity is recorded, he said.

The team recently performed the first laser ablation—a much less invasive surgical procedure than traditional brain surgeries, Modur said.

By the end of 2014, the team is also expected to begin working with implantable devices that help treat seizures similarly to how a pacemaker works for the heart.

Modur said once The University of Texas at Austin medical school is built, the monitoring unit will be relocated to the campus with an additional bed.

"Whatever [a patient has] we can certainly take care of their epilepsy needs in Austin," he said.