"EpilepSee" Glasses: A Wearable Seizure Prevention Device for Photosensitive Epilepsy

Temporarily reducing retinal stimulation when exposed to a hazardous photic stimulus by activating a rapidly responding electrochromic material could provide a novel seizure prevention method, referred to as the "EpilepSee Glasses", for people with photosensitive epilepsy.Analysis of an electroencephalogram (EEG) recording has shown reduced photoparoxysmal responses when exposed to flashing light whilst wearing a pair of glasses with one lens covered by an electrochromic material. By characterising the variation of the light seen in a user's field of vision in real time, and exploiting the fact that a stimulus must, on average, be present for at least 1 second to cause a seizure, the glasses' lens only needs to activate upon detection of a potentially harmful stimulus. This means that when the optical environment is deemed safe by the device, the user will experience minimal change to their quality of life.Further development could result in this proof-of-concept device evolving into a simple, affordable solution for noninvasive seizure prevention, filling an otherwise unexplored gap in treatment methods.