Wristband Detects and Alerts for Seizures, Monitors Stress

People with epilepsy suffer from recurrent, unprovoked seizures that can cause injury and even death from “sudden unexpected death in epilepsy” (SUDEP), a condition that occurs minutes after a seizure ends.

Now Empatica, co-founded by MIT professor and wearables pioneer Rosalind Picard, has developed a medical-quality consumer wristband, called Embrace, that monitors stress signals to detect potentially deadly seizures and alert wearers and caregivers, so they can intervene.

Researchers worldwide are using a scientific version of the wristband, called the E4, which also measures other signals, to study epilepsy and other neurological and psychiatric conditions. Numerous academic papers are now published, showing that the combined electrodermal activity (EDA), also known as skin conductance, and motion data collected from the wrist improve the accuracy of seizure detection over using only motion data.

Now Empatica is prepping to release Embrace, “a consumer-looking, but medical-quality device” for monitoring stress and seizures, says Picard, a professor of media arts and sciences in the MIT Media Lab and Empatica’s chief scientist. After a successful Indiegogo campaign last year, the beta version of Embrace shipped to backers last Friday.

Apart from detecting seizures, anyone can also use the wristbands to monitor stress levels — which is important for good health, Picard says. Chronic stress has been linked to numerous health issues such as heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. “Stress signals reach every organ of your body, so these stress signals are potentially influencing everything,” Picard says. “Sometimes you don’t realize [you’re stressed] until you get that just-in-time notice.”

Better stress detection for all

According to the World Health Organization, roughly 50 million people worldwide suffer from epilepsy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates about one in every 1,000 people with epilepsy die annually from SUDEP, a possible result of suffocation from impaired breathing, fluid in the lungs, or seizing while sleeping face down. Rates are significantly higher for people who have had at least one grand mal seizure — one of the most dangerous types of seizures — in the past year, Picard says.

With Embrace, Empatica aims to aid people suffering from epilepsy by helping them better alert loved ones, Picard says. An app that comes with Embrace lets wearers and others monitor when the person might be having a grand mal seizure.

The wristbands resemble watches but have a solid silver or black face. Sensors underneath the face track pulse, body motion, temperature, and EDA, which involves subtle electrical changes across the skin. Boosts in EDA, without accompanying changes in motion, can signal stress. In people with epilepsy, a sharp rise in both signals could indicate a severe, potentially life-threatening seizure.

When the wristband detects a seizure, it vibrates, and the wearer can respond. If the wearer becomes unconscious, which happens with the most dangerous seizures, and doesn’t respond quickly, the app sends an alert to a designated individual.

“If somebody goes to check on a person during or after they have had a grand mal seizure, then they are less likely to die,” Picard says. “In some cases, simply saying the person’s name or turning them over (gentle stimulation) might save their life. Anybody could do this potentially life-saving action, they just need to know to go check on the person — don’t leave them alone right after a seizure.”

Additionally, teachers and parents may want to monitor the stress levels of a child with emotion regulation issues or autism. The device may determine, for instance, if a child is experiencing a “fight-or-flight response,” and can be set to vibrate to alert parents or teachers. “You can see if the child lying on the floor or on the ground in the playground might be about to have a meltdown … even though they may look calm outwardly,” she says. “Several teens with autism told us they often can’t tell they’re about to explode until it’s too late. Maybe this could help some of them get an alert while they’re still in control.”

For epilepsy researchers, Picard says, the E4 wristband has made it possible to gather real-time data from patients going about their daily lives. Empatica’s website now lists around 20 academic papers that use E4 in studies on subjects ranging from autism to resuscitation after a heart attack.

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