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Near infrared spectroscopic topography (NIRS) is widely recognized as a noninvasive method to measure the regional cerebral blood volume (rCBV) dynamics coupled with neuronal activities. We analyzed the rCBV change in the early phase of epileptic seizures in 12 consecutive patients with medically intractable epilepsy. Seizure was induced by bemegride injection. We used eight-channel NIRS in nine cases and 24 channel in three cases. In all of the cases, rCBV increased rapidly after the seizure onset on the focus side. The increased rCBV was observed for about 30–60 s. The NIRS method can be applied to monitor the rCBV change continuously during seizures. Therefore, this method may be combined with ictal SPECT as one of the most reliable noninvasive methods of focus diagnosis.© 2000 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.[S1083-3668 (00) 00103-9]