Seizure warning system.
Travis
Australia
In the last two weeks my son has started having focal seizures, we are working on a drug combinations that hopefully helps with this. This has meant that me, my wife and family members are watching him around the clock.
My goal is to build a EEG machine that triggers when brain activity hits a certain level for a certain length of time. I'm hoping not to get any useful data out of it or have a large number of sensors. Just a 'simple' way to tell us if he is in a seizure. This can then trigger an alarm to wake us up through the night.
The goals of the build.
It will be comfortable enough for a one year old to sleep with.
Easy to put on and set up, hopefully will dry sensors.
The software we notice the above average signal for a prolonged time and set off an alarm.
The sensors need to be as flat as possible so they don't dig into his head.
I'm hoping that someone has already built a device that fit this description or that there's a product that already does this? If you know of anyone that has built one I would love to hear from them.
Thanks
Travis
Comments
Travis, hi.
My impression is that configuring a 'comfortable' sleep-EEG system around OpenBCI, that can be used easily night after night with little fussing or setup -- would be challenging. There are definitely groups doing sleep work with OpenBCI. But these are more geared to "sleep lab" type environments that are not run every night for months at a time.
https://www.google.com/search?as_q=psg&as_sitesearch=openbci.com
https://www.google.com/search?as_q=polysomnography&as_sitesearch=openbci.com
My guess is that you might be better off with some type of self-contained 'headband' type EEG system, that is targeted to sleep usage. One possibility is the Muse-S
https://choosemuse.com/muse-s/
If you can gain access to the raw EEG stream (which I believe is supported), that would enable you to write a mobile / tablet app that could monitor for seizure type activity. Alternately the seizure detection could be done inside the headband itself, and then 'alerted' to a mobile device. So continuous live streaming of the EEG to the mobile could be avoided. Of course Muse internal firmware is not open source (unlike OpenBCI). I don't know how many hours of EEG the Muse-S can stream at one battery charge. Likely not 8. You might inquire with Muse if they are considering such applications.
It IS possible to do this with OpenBCI boards / headbands. But would require substantially more nightly setup time. And you would need to devise a board enclosure / headband mounting system that is comfortable and keeps the wiring / electrodes manageable.
Note that neither Muse nor OpenBCI has any approval for medical applications.
Have you looked into 'non-EEG' seizure detection systems, that are based on EMG / accelerometer? There may be actual devices on the market for both EEG and non-EEG sleep seizure detection; targeted at home users.
https://www.google.com/search?q=non-eeg+seizure+detection
https://www.google.com/search?q=consumer+home+seizure+detection
Apps and devices on this page look to be more in alignment with your goals, than a completely DIY approach,
https://www.dannydid.org/epilepsy-sudep/devices-technology/
Regards, William
https://www.mobihealthnews.com/content/empaticas-consumer-facing-epileptic-seizure-detecting-wearable-gets-fda-clearance
Thanks William
Some great info there, it may take me a bit to go through it all.
The wearable watch is interesting but the focal siezure that he has have no movement of his body, Just his eyes and head move to the right and he lays perfectly still, this is why I am hoping that some type of EEG could be the answer. Also his heart rate and oxygen level stay normal.
I will look into the muse products to see if they can be use, I'm not sure if there will be increased activity at the front of the brain as the reason for the siezures are at the back of the brain. But I will try and find out if a spike in electrical signal can be read even though the front of the brain isn't seizureing. We are having an MRI tomorrow so I will see if I can get any info about this from the neurologist or radiologist.
I'll keep going through your links and see what I can find.
Thank for the great reply.
Cheers
Travis
Travis, thanks. I would ask your neurologist about the Empatica 'embrace2' device; and enquire with Empatica. It uses AI to detect patterns from skin resistance and movement; possibly other metrics. So I believe there is some amount of learning going on, tailored to the individual's own situation. The skin resistance is directly related to ANS autonomic nervous system state of activation (sympathetic or parasympathetic). This changes substantially during seizure; even more so when sleeping. Since this is FDA approved, and is being used in sleep applications, my guess is that they deal with many specific patterns.
I just re-read your first post, and since your son is only one year old, there is also the issue of 'fit' of any device to his dimensions. So my initial hunch of an eeg sleep headband was probably off the mark. Since these are all setup for adult heads. You'd have similar issues with any OpenBCI headband type situation. On the other hand, the Empatica might fit poorly on the wrist, but better on the upper arm or thigh.
If there are any FDA approved devices that work in your situation, they would certainly be preferred over potential experimental DIY solutions that would be possible.
Can you monitor pulse rate to see if that rises reliably with a seizure?