Background

Surge in electrical activity in the brain during a seizure

Seizures are a condition that affects a significant portion of the human population. On average, “1 in 26 Americans will develop epilepsy in their lifetime” (Epilepsy Facts). Seizures are a sudden urge of electrical activity in the brain. They’re common for those suffering from epilepsy or head trauma and can be extremely dangerous for those afflicted by them. Although seizures themselves aren’t usually lethal, the effects of the person having one can be. Seizures cause you to lose control of your body including things such as vomiting, shaking, and falling. A situation where a person has a seizure while driving a car is an example of a potentially deadly case. It is difficult to tell when someone is about to have a seizure. There are already precautions in place. For example, there are dogs that are trained to alert you when someone is about to have a seizure. These are very expensive alternatives and can “range from $7,000 to $50,000” (Seizure Alert Dogs).

An EEG is a potential way to tell if a person is about to have a seizure. Electroencephalograms or EEGs are sensors that detect electrical activity in the brain. Before a person has a seizure, there is a spike in electrical activity before the rest of the symptoms become present. Hooking up an EEG to an app can help inform a person if they’re about to have a seizure and prevent a mass amount of injuries.