Policy Context and Legal Framework

Wearable devices for eHealth are a research direction at present and in the future. European industry must keep itself at the foreground of it. Neurological disorders are a serious challenge for researchers and clinicians, since there are many people who can benefit from any progresses.

Implementation and Management Approach

The project has three main outputs: an European Database on Epilepsy, a computational framework for studies in seizure prediction and a transportable device (Brainatics) for warnings about a (predicted) coming seizure. The academic and clinical partners are charged with the first two and the industrial partner with the Brainatics. The management is based in a simple structure, easing communication among partners.  MBO (management by objectives) is tentatively implemented and the partners are subject to mutual evaluation.

Technology solution

The database is Oracle based, running in Solaris operating system, replicated in the three participating hospitals to have natural redondancy. At the end of the project it will have data from about 300 patients. The computational framework integrates into Matlab environment a set of functionalities and algorithms for seizure prediction. Brainatics, in the clinical version, is based on real-time EEG-ECG acquisition at high frequencies, by a wireless device transmitting through a Bluetooth network (installed in clinics) to a computer where the prediction algorithms are running.The patients can move inside the clinics under the constrain of the Bluetooth network.

Impact

For participants it is an opportunity to develop experience and knowledge in an exciting application and to give a contribution to the happiness of people. For patients it can create important possibilities to improve their living conditions, their safety and social integration.  For European industry it is an important contribution to maintain itself in the first line of technological progress. More than 2.5 million European patients can benefit from the developments. Worldwide there are more than 15 million people potentially benefitting from the project outcomes.

Lessons learnt

The development of European projects takes more time than previewed. The permanent communication among partners is fundamental for efficient collaborative work (particularly for software development).

Research in health problems has extra difficulties because of ethical requirements, patient selection constrains, data access, etc. The previewed budget reveals itself as underestimated for the tasks needed.