Advances in the Application of Technology to Epilepsy (Essay Example)

Technological advances over the past few decades have brought what was seemingly sci-fi or possibly dreamt up by a movie producer, to life. People can make phone calls while driving in their car or video chat with loved ones across town or across the globe. Gone are the days of wearing a wristwatch solely for the purpose of telling time. Who would have thought 30 years ago that we would be wearing smartwatches on our wrists that could not only make a phone call or send a text but also monitor the health of the wearer?  People can track their heart rate during rest and exercise, obtain an ECG reading of their heart, monitor their steps during the day, and even record seizure activity all while wearing a smartwatch.  Regarding Epilepsy, smartwatch technology is in its infancy. In order to greatly improve the lives of those living with Epilepsy, further technological advances will be necessary. 

According to the World Health Organization Epilepsy is defined as a neurological disorder marked by sudden recurrent episodes of sensory disturbance, loss of consciousness, or convulsions, associated with abnormal electrical activity in the brain.  Globally, Epilepsy affects approximately 50 million people making it one of the most common neurological diseases. Yet still so much is unknown about what causes it or when one will have a seizure. Living with the constant wonder of when the next seizure will occur can be limiting to the patient. Many people go untreated due to a fear of the stigma and discrimination that often accompany the disease. This is disheartening when statistics show that a high percentage (60%-70%) of patients can become seizure-free when they promptly take effective medication (Alzamanan, Akman, & Abdul, 2021). Patients that do seek treatment will likely take many medications before they find the right dose or combination of medications that render them seizure-free. In order to remain seizure-free, it is important to take the right medications at the right time, limit stress levels, and get an appropriate amount of sleep. All of these are key components one could track with an epilepsy monitoring app to make disease management easier.

Until recent years, appropriate seizure monitoring has been a tedious task. Using paper diaries to collect data related to a patient’s symptoms is a challenging task. The easy availability and reduced cost of mobile and wearable technologies are enabling individuals to record

more data about their physical and mental health than ever before (Andrews et al., 2022). Thus, mobile apps have become a great tool that helps patients to cope with and control their condition. 

SmartMonitor is a fast-growing digital health company based in Silicon Valley, CA. It specializes in chronic disease management solutions that integrate patient-generated health data, mobile and cloud technologies, and AI-based analytics in a seamless digital environment. (Insprye, 2022). New technology combines seizure detection and emergency alerts to family or friends of the wearer enhancing patient safety. 

It sounds simple. Buy a smartwatch. Download an app. Fill out the required fields. Live life without fear. Sounds easy, but not all apps are created equal. While some apps offer a wide range of domains of self-management, others only offer minimal tracking of medications or seizure activity.  Some apps help users to identify triggers, that is a factors that can cause a seizure in a person who either has epilepsy or does not. Common triggers are stress, lack of sleep, non-compliance with medication, or menses. These apps rely on the user to enter the information in order to track seizure activity or medication compliance thereby increasing the risk of user error. 

Many users complain that the technology is lacking in distinguishing between repetitive movements and seizure activity. Differentiating or quantifying disease-related movement patterns like epileptic seizures from common voluntary movements such as teeth

brushing can be challenging.  To overcome these problems, advanced algorithm development is often required to reach sufficient accuracy (Johansson, Malmgren, & Margit, 2018, pg. 1744). Improvements in detecting seizure activity from normal repetitive motion will be challenging, but necessary to see this technology become more accurate in seizure detection. 

Other challenges exist with the current technology. For instance, while apps can record data that can later be sent to the user’s health care professionals, training in how to interpret the data has yet to be implemented properly. Much of the data collected gets misinterpreted or mistakenly deleted by the user (Andrews et al., 2022). Technology that would allow data to be sent automatically would eliminate user error. Currently, the technology is not available that could potentially alert a person that their brain wave activity is erratic, and a seizure is possible. This kind of technology would improve the lives of those living with epilepsy greatly, giving them the freedom to do things they would normally be limited in, such as driving. 

Conclusion

Epilepsy is a very complex disease. Life for those living with Epilepsy has been improved with current technology implementing the use of smartwatches to monitor seizure activity. While promising, the technology, like most technology in its infancy, needs improvement. The potential is there to give people with Epilepsy and their families peace of mind, knowing help is a notification away.