Research groups at Kumamoto University, Kyoto University, and Tokyo Medical and Dental University have succeeded in predicting epileptic seizures with high accuracy based on heart rate fluctuations based on electrocardiograms rather than brain waves.We are in the process of developing a predictive device that utilizes this, and if it is put into practical use, patients themselves will be able to take measures to ensure safety in advance.
According to Kumamoto University, there has been a method of using heart rate to predict epileptic seizures for a long time, but it has been difficult to put it into practical use because the difference between normal times and pre-seizure is difficult to analyze and individual differences are large.Therefore, the research group introduced a new engineering method called multivariate statistical process control and analyzed the electrocardiogram data of 14 patients admitted to the epilepsy test, and succeeded in predicting seizures with a high accuracy of 91%. Did.
The research team is conducting clinical research on the predictive device under development at multiple medical institutions such as the Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital and the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry Hospital.
Epilepsy is a chronic disorder of the brain that causes repeated seizures due to the intense electrical excitement that occurs in nerve cell neurons in the brain.Taking antiepileptic drugs can suppress seizures and lead a daily life, but some of them are intractable epilepsy, and the prediction of seizures has become an issue.
The research results were published in the electronic version of the American scientific journal "Transaction on Biomedical Engineering".
