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Epilepsy Blog Relay: Rachel on epilepsy technology

March 9

This post is part of the Epilepsy Blog Relay™ which will run from March 1 to March 31, 2018. Follow along!

The theme for this week’s blog relay is all about different types of technology that involved in epilepsy. This technology has a personal connection to me actually; my sister Meredith had a VNS, Vagal Nerve Stimulator implanted last year.

RNS

The first type of technology is the RNS that I researched. According the Center for Disease Control, the device is created by NeuroPace for seizure disorder patients over the age of eighteen. While this is not the first implant of its kind created for patients in this situation; this device is the first that can respond to brain activity directly on its own. According to the manufacturer, the device is looking for unusual brainwaves, also it is taught to detect what is unusual for you and then, the device within a millisecond will end the seizure activity.

EEG

During my blog last year throughout March’s relay I discussed an EEG, electroencephalography and it’s usage in testing for abnormalities. This year, I found something really cool as a follow up. According to an article by MIT, Engineers at The Imperial College of London are now testing an inner ear EEG system that would be worn like a hearing aid. The original intent of the device was for multiple different situations. The first of which was for infants that struggle keeping the electrodes on their heads. The second situation was for when an EEG is need for multiple days a time where the patient cannot be in the hospital setting. Both situations make the results more reliable for the patient

Pulse Guard

Lastly, is a product that I’ve been interested in lately. It’s called the Pulse Guard. The product was created because a mother was concerned about her son at night that had seizures at night. The product was created to monitor the pulse rate of a patient during the night. The product includes a wrist or ankle band that communicates by Bluetooth on an Apple IPad product. The product is known for not disturbing the person’s sleep pattern. If the patient’s pulse rate drops or increases at all the iPad will raise an alert immediately. This is something that I am very interested in personally due to the fact that my neurologist has suspected that I have had issues in my sleep in the past.  You can purchase the product on the company’s website directly.


NEXT UP: Be sure to check out the next post tomorrow by Emma at littlemamamurphy.co.uk.  For the full schedule of bloggers visit livingwellwithepilepsy.com.

TWITTER CHAT: And don’t miss your chance to connect with bloggers on the #LivingWellChat on April 2 at 7PM ET.

 

Follow Rachel Ehrhardt:
Rachel Ehrhardt Streelman is from Houston , Texas. She has been a writer and contributor to Living Well with Epilepsy for two years. Rachel has had epilepsy since 9 months old. She comes from a family where her father, sister, and herself all have different forms of epilepsy. Rachel is married to Casey and they have a Cavapoo named Sheldon.

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