A research team of the Central University of Kerala, Kasaragod, has obtained a patent for designing an epilepsy predicting helmet.
The team, consisting of the research scholar Fasil O.K. and Assistant Professor Thasleema T.M. under the guidance of R. Rajesh, Head of the Department of Computer Science, began research in automatic detection and prediction of epilepsy from electroencephalography (EEG) signals in 2016 in the department of computer science of the university.
The device called, “Brain signal capturing safety helmet”, detects brain signals and predicts the chances of an attack of epilepsy well in advance.
The team developed suitable algorithms for the analysis of epileptic EEG signals. The members of the team presented their project in various international conferences and published many scientific papers.
Mr. Fasil said epilepsy was a chronic brain disorder that affected a large population across the globe.
Epilepsy disturbs the brain’s normal functioning and affects the day-to-day lives of patients.
Patients who drive vehicles or handle complicated machines face more risks. Dizziness and unconsciousness caused by the disorder may lead to accidents or injuries.
It is in this context that the helmet that predicts the onset of a fit of epilepsy plays an important role by alerting the patient beforehand. This helps the patient to adopt appropriate precautions.
The team has obtained a design patent for the model (Design number: 335166-001).
The same model could be used for sleep detection for drivers with a few changes in the algorithms, they said.
Mr. Fasil said that they were in discussion with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) for further research in the field.
