A breakthrough for epilepsy patients? Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have developed a device to detect and predict epileptic seizures.
The wearable Epiness device, whose technology is based on machine-learning algorithms and EEG-based monitoring of brain activity, can generate an advanced warning about an upcoming seizure that will be sent to a user's smartphone up to an hour prior to its onset.
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The algorithms are designed to filter noise that is not related to brain activity, extract informative measures of the underlying brain dynamics, and distinguish between brain activity before an expected epileptic seizure and brain activity when a seizure is not expected to occur.
Up to 30% of epilepsy patients do not adequately respond to anti-epileptic drugs. For such patients, a viable seizure prediction device could offer a substantial improvement in quality of life, enabling them to avoid seizure-related injuries. Current seizure alarm devices can detect a seizure in real time but are unable to provide advanced warnings of impending seizures.
The system has out-licensed for further development and commercialization to NeuroHelp, a startup company that was recently founded by BGN Technologies, the technology transfer company of BGU, and Dr. Oren Shriki of BGU's Department of Cognitive and Brain Sciences, who is also NeuroHelp's scientific founder.
"Epileptic seizures expose epilepsy patients to various preventable hazards, including falls, burns and other injuries," Shriki said.
"Unfortunately, currently there are no seizure-predicting devices that can alert patients and allow them to prepare for upcoming seizures. We are therefore very excited that the machine-learning algorithms that we developed enable accurate prediction of impending seizures up to one hour prior to their occurrence. Since we have also shown that our algorithms enable a significant reduction in the number of necessary EEG electrodes, the device we are developing is both accurate and user friendly. We are currently developing a prototype that will be assessed in clinical trials later this year," Shikri added.
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