It is hoped a new Queensland study will help people living with epilepsy better anticipate seizures.
Neurologists, biologists and engineers from Mater Research and the University of Queensland will examine whether purpose-built smart watches can help patients assess seizure risk by detecting stress signals.
The study has been awarded a $40,000 grant from Bionics Queensland.
Lead researcher Professor Aileen McGonigal of the Mater Research and Queensland Brain Institute said chronic stress is known to increase seizure frequency.
"One of the most difficult aspects of living with epilepsy is that seizures can really come out of the blue and often patients don't get much warning at all, when they're at high risk of having seizures," Dr McGonigal said.
"Many of our patients report certain factors that might tend to favour or trigger seizures … if you're sensitive to stress, and so stress or strong emotions can sometimes lead to an increased risk of seizures."
How the study will work
She said the researchers will use an electroencephalogram to study brain activity on patients for about a week, which will then inform the development of specially designed watches.
She said there is currently seizure detection devices available, but they can only detect the most obvious seizure types.
"We're hoping that our data will help to, in the future be able to detect various types of seizures, including more subtle seizures."
Dr McGonigal said the technology would give people with epilepsy more control over their health and could help the third of epilepsy suffers who continue to have seizures despite medication.
"If the watch has detected those levels are high, perhaps the patient could bring into play some responses to that — some breathing exercises, or some kind of adaptation — which might then reduce the risk of having a seizure," she said.
Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders in Australia, affecting 150,000 people, including 30,000 in Queensland.
Epilepsy Queensland CEO Chris Dougherty welcomed the study.
"The unpredictability of seizures can cause anxiety for a person with epilepsy, offering them some degree of control is a positive step," Mr Dougherty said.
