Monday, July 28, 2008

New Device May Warn of Oncoming Seizures

Filed under: Neurology

Xconomy Seattle is profiling research by NeuroVista, a Seattle firm that's trying to develop a device capable of predicting the onset of an epileptic seizure through EEG brainwave monitoring. The firm is still mostly tight lipped about its implantable system, but if the technology produces a viable commercial device, epileptics may finally have the ability to take some measures to reduce the severity of an attack, and take safety measures to prevent accidental trauma.

From Xconomy:

NeuroVista gathered hundreds of high-resolution EEG readouts from patients who had severe enough epilepsy that they were hospitalized for more than a week and continuously monitored. NeuroVista's computers mined the massive reams of data to detect statistical abnormalities that can't be spotted by a neurologist's eye, and built them into its algorithms. Then comes the engineering challenge. Getting the electrode to be sensitive and durable enough for long-term use, making a telemetry device small enough to be implantable yet with enough battery power to transmit a lot of data, and then having an easy-to-wear receiver that can warn patients of the coming storm.

More from Xconomy Seattle...

NeuroVista...

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