With funding from NeuroVista, a medical device company in Seattle, Mark Cook of the University of Melbourne and his colleagues have developed a brain implant that consists of a small patch of electrodes that measure brain wave activity.
Over time, the device’s software learns which patterns of brainwave activity indicate that a seizure is about to happen. When it detects such a pattern, the implant then transmits a signal through a wire to a receiver implanted under the wearer’s collarbone.
This unit alerts the wearer by wirelessly activating a handheld gadget with colored lights — a red warning light, for example, signals that a seizure is imminent.
The device could also be linked to deep-brain-stimulation implants, which deliver small electric currents to the brain in order to halt seizures. These implants switch on automatically when seizures start. Triggering them in advance could prevent seizures more effectively, says Cook.