Ambulatory Epileptic Monitoring Device

Epilepsy is a brain disorder that affects millions of adults and children in America. It is characterized by abnormal neuronal signaling and can cause strange sensations, emotions, behavior, loss of consciousness, muscle spasms, and convulsions. These episodes are very difficult to predict with the current technologies available, and almost impossible to accurately record outside clinical settings. This project aims to create an ambulatory device that can continuously measure long-term electroencephalography (EEG) outside of a hospital. The Epileptic Monitoring Device (EMD) is a portable device with two separate units: a head-mounted EEG recording system and a data viewing application on an Android platform. The EEG is recorded using five electrodes in referential montage attached to a headset and passes the signal through an isolation amplifier and then into a microprocessor for analog-to-digital conversion. The digital signal is sent via Bluetooth transceiver to the mobile device where it is processed and viewed using the Android application. An alarm will be triggered when the application detects seizure-like activity. The EMD will provide accurate monitoring for epileptic patients within the comfort of day-to-day activities. Caretakers and medical professionals can use this data to determine types of seizures, number of seizures, and the efficacy of medication.