Brain implant warns before seizures strike

• Autores: Sara Reardon
• Localización: New scientist, ISSN 0262-4079, Nº. 2916, 2013, pág. 14
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Epileptic seizures are triggered by erratic brain activity and usually last no longer than a few minutes. Their unpredictability makes them hazardous and disruptive for people with the condition, says Mark Cook of the University of Melbourne in Australia. Cook and his colleagues have developed a brain implant--a small patch of electrodes that measures brainwaves--to do just that. Cook's team tested the device in 15 people with epilepsy over four months. In 11 of them, the system predicted at least 65 per cent of seizures, giving at least four minutes' warning of each. In two of these people, it predicted every seizure. But it didn't work well in four people, two of whom experienced side effects.