Implantable Seizure Advisory System Has Strong Early Results

The SAS also has the ability to make audio recordings, which can help researchers to gain a better understanding of the relationship between seizures and the patient’s activities and surroundings. “There are plenty of opportunities here for us to focus on seizure triggers, which is impossible in the very artificial setting of the clinic,” said Dr. Cook. Furthermore, he said, the system could probably evolve into a noninvasive EEG placed on the scalp.

 “We’ve recorded a lot of really interesting data so far, even putting aside issues about seizure prediction,” Dr. Cook added. “One is the enormous disparity between seizures reported [at baseline] by the patient against those recorded by the device. Some patients underestimate their number of seizures, and some overestimate it. But the amount that they underestimate is really dramatic.” One patient reported experiencing seven seizures per month at baseline but had 104.4 per month detected by the system, while another reported experiencing six seizures per month at baseline but had 80.3 per month detected by the system.

“I think that this is a very rich study in terms of the data that are being acquired,” Dr. Cook concluded. “I suspect that we’ll see lots of novel findings from our long-term data.”