Researchers develop implantable AI helmet to prevent seizure disorders

Australian researchers have developed an implantable artificial intelligence (AI) monitoring and seizure detection helmet system designed to prevent seizure disorders for patients who have undergone decompressive brain surgery. The detection system from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation's (CSIRO)'s Data61 has been developed and trained using traumatic brain injury data to monitor brain activity for seizures.

According to zdnet.com, the research team said using wireless communication, the helmet can transfer any collected data to a healthcare practitioner. "Monitoring brain activity post-surgery is especially critical to a patient's recovery as seizures can regularly occur, often leading to patients developing epilepsy," CSIRO's Data61 researcher Dr Umut Guvenc was quoted as saying to zdnet.

"These seizures are often difficult to detect, with current monitoring techniques only able to be used in a hospital using bulky devices for less than 24 hours, providing a brief snapshot of brain activity during that time only," Guvenc added. This new method can continuously monitor brain activity wirelessly, allowing the patient to be mobile, comfortable and more socially active.

According to the researchers, the helmet will enable clinicians to monitor brain activity in real-time, rather than rely on current bulky brain monitoring systems that only exist within hospital environments. Information provided by the implants can be used to inform clinicians about the patient's brain activity and inform decisions regarding the administering of drugs, the researchers said. The combination of brain swelling, surgery timing, and patient outcome data will enable further study on the ideal time to perform a reconstructive cranioplasty to achieve the best patient outcome.