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Emily was diagnosed with epilepsy before she was able to learn how to drive, and because she has never been able to get her epilepsy completely under control, she has since been unable to learn how. Emily describes her epilepsy as unpredictable. She can go several months without suffering a seizure, but they can suddenly start up again for long periods of time. Her family often worries that if she has a seizure while her husband is away, nobody will be aware of the event and be there to provide assistance. After three hospital stays due to her epilepsy, Emily learned about a company called Epilepsy Solutions. The company makes monitoring devices for patients with epilepsy which include a smart watch, a phone app, and bed alarms designed to detect nocturnal seizures.
The picture to the left is of the smart watch created by Epilepsy Solutions. The watch allows the wearer to press a button that sends a help text message to pre-programmed numbers within the watch. The watch is also able to sense impending seizure activity and automatically send a text message to pre-programmed contacts.
The phone app created by the same company allows the individual to track their unique risk factors by filling out a short assessment each time it is opened. Once the assessment is complete, it provides a read out of which risk factors have gotten better, which risk factors have worsened, and which have stayed constant since the last assessment. The phone app provides the patient a way to monitor their condition between appoints with their doctor.
Now back to Emily. Since purchasing the watch and downloading the phone app, she feels less anxious about her epilepsy. She still has not learned to drive, but she reports that the wearable technology has made her life a lot easier.
Wow, that is super impressive! And I bet it really improved Emily's quality of life.
This story was taken from Living Well with Epilepsy at https://livingwellwithepilepsy.com/2018/epilepsy-blog-relay/jun-18-ebr-posts/smart-monitoring-epilepsy-and-seizure-alert-systems.html
The website also stressed that they were not paid by the company Epilepsy Solutions to post this story on their website.
I do not hold any stake in Epilepsy Solutions. I am sharing it with you here because as pharmacists I thought you could inform your patients of this technology to help better manage their condition. I personally will be looking into this technology and informing patients about these products in hopes that this technology will provide patients another tool to live happy and productive lives with this often debilitating condition.
I love the technologies. These are new and are so much better than telling someone to make sure they wear a bracelet. Some of you may be familiar that there are support animals who also are trained to recognize the onset of seizures. Ruth Nemire
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