SUDEP Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy kills more people in the US than house fires yet people live alone and often have no warning of the pending seizure.
One in twenty six people in the united states have epilepsy at a stage in their lives, yet m
ost people with epilepsy hide the fact. Their friends do not know. The stigma of epilepsy haunts most patients but the new device may help them to be the same as others who wear devices to monitor their blood pressure, post-surgery or while exercising. It will be seen as trendy and it may well save their lives.
In the UK there are specialist dogs who can sense the onset of the seizure and get their owner to sit down or get to safety before their convulsion starts. The dogs heightened senses can give an early warming to their owner. Now with the help of crowd funding and the research carried out at MIT under the direction of Professor Rosalind Picard a device has been developed which can be worn to detect the sympathetic nervous system response in the skin which precedes a Grand Mal seizure. The device will vibrate gently to alert the patient or it will send a message to a loved one or carer who can get the appropriate help required for the patient. The information stored in the devices will help with further research into the bodies response to seizure’s and will help to assess the effectiveness of medication.
Epilepsy patients will now feel safer to drive and carry out activities which would have been to high risk before. But even better they will fit in with many others now warning devices to help them manage their life threatening conditions or indeed keep them safe while they exercise. Breaking down the stigma and enabling patients to talk to their friends about their condition may very well save their life.
Written by Jackie Peck