The Implementation of a Low-Power Biomedical Signal Processor for Real-Time Epileptic Seizure Detection on Absence Animal Models

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, with a worldwide prevalence of approximately 1%. A considerable portion of epilepsy patients cannot be treated sufficiently by today\´s available therapies. Implantable closed-loop neurostimulation is an innovative and effective method for seizure control. A real-time seizure detector is the kernel of a closed-loop seizure controller. In this paper, a low-power biomedical signal processor based on reduced instruction set computer (RISC) architecture for real-time seizure detection is implemented to achieve low-power consumption and perform continuous and real-time processing. The low-power processor is implemented in a 0.18 $\mu$ m complementary–metal–oxide semiconductor technology to verify functionality and capability. The measurement results show the implemented processor can reduce over 90% power consumption compared with our previous prototype, which was implemented on an enhanced 8051 microprocessor. This seizure detector was applied to the continuous EEG signals of four Long–Evans rats with spontaneous absence seizures. It also processed 24 h long-term and uninterrupted EEG sequence. The developed seizure detector can be applied for online seizure monitoring and integrated with an electrical stimulator to perform a closed-loop seizure controller in the future.