Wristband Sensors Can Detect, and Possibly Predict, Life-Threatening Seizures

 So a team of MIT Media Lab researchers have developed a wristband that can tell the difference between the more benign breed of seizure and the one that might kill you, and may even be able to predict seizures before they strike.

 

The wristbands work by measuring skin conductance, or the ease with which electrical current can pass through the skin. Skin conductance changes for a variety of reasons mostly tied to how much you’re sweating. And purely by accident, one of the researchers found that skin conductance spikes during and even before a seizure.

 

Further experimentation and data gathering told the researchers a few more things related to skin conductance. For one, there’s evidence that what defines how deadly a seizure might be isn’t its duration or some other outward characteristic, but how quickly the brain bounces back afterward. Deadly seizures are associated with suppressed brainwave activity that lingers after the seizure is over. If the brain doesn’t return to normal quickly, the situation can quickly turn critical.