Abstract Objective Seizure unpredictability is a major source of disability for people with epilepsy. Recent work using chronic brain recordings has established that for many individuals with epilepsy seizure risk is not random, but corresponds to circadian and multiday (multidien) cycles in brain excitability. Here, we aimed to evaluate whether multimodal wearable device recordings can characterize cycles of seizure risk, and compare wearables performance with concurrent chronic brain recordings. Methods Fourteen subjects underwent long-term ambulatory monitoring with a multimodal wrist worn device (measuring heart rate, heart rate variability, accelerometry, tonic and phasic electrodermal activity, temperature) and an implanted responsive neurostimulation system (measuring interictal epileptiform abnormalities (IEA) and electrographic seizures). Wavelet time-frequency analyses identified circadian and multiday cycles in wearable and brain recordings. Circular statistics assessed seizure phase locking to cycles in physiology. Results Ten subjects met inclusion criteria. The mean recording duration was 232 days. Seven subjects had reliable electrographic seizure detections (mean 76 seizures). Seizure phase locking to multiday cycles occurred in six (IEA), five (temperature), four (heart rate, phasic electrodermal activity), and three (accelerometry, heart rate variability, tonic electrodermal activity) subjects. Seizure phase locking to residual HR multiday cycles (HR after regression of correlated physical activity (ACC)) increased to six subjects. Interpretation Long timescale cyclical changes in wearable recordings are common in epilepsy, and seizures occur at preferred phases of these cycles for many individuals. Broadly accessible wearable technology can provide new insights into the chronobiology of epilepsy with implications for seizure forecasting.
One of the most disabling aspects of living with chronic epilepsy is the unpredictability of seizures. Cumulative research in the past decades has advanced our understanding of the dynamics of seizure risk. Technological advances have recently made it possible to record pertinent biological signals, including electroencephalogram (EEG), continuously. We aimed to assess whether patient-specific seizure forecasting is possible using remote, minimally invasive ultra-long-term subcutaneous EEG.
In this paper, we propose a concatenated coding scheme involving an outer Reed-Muller (RM) code and an inner Finite Field low-density parity check (LDPC) code of medium length and high rate. It lowers the error floor of inner Finite Field LDPC code. This concatenation scheme offers flexibility in design and it is easy to implement. In addition, the decoding works in a serial turbo manner and has no harmful trapping sets of size smaller than the minimum distance of the outer code. The simulation results indicate that the proposed serial concatenation can eliminate the dominant trapping sets of the inner Finite Field LDPC code.
Sensor networks are a way to combat the fading in cooperative communications systems due to spatial diversity characteristic and they are so popular in the new generation of wireless networks. In this research the PCA relay strategies on a two-hop protocol sensor network is proposed and the better BER performance than the conventional relay matrix is achieved. It is considered one antenna for all nodes of the network including relays in the same distance from source and destination. The PCA method is applied for relay strategies, based on the eigenvectors corresponding to the largest eigenvalues of channels at both sides of relays, constraining total power usage. The BER and MSE criterion of the proposed scheme are derived.
Abstract Objective Epilepsy management employs self‐reported seizure diaries, despite evidence of seizure underreporting. Wearable and implantable seizure detection devices are now becoming more widely available. There are no clear guidelines about what levels of accuracy are sufficient. This study aimed to simulate clinical use cases and identify the necessary level of accuracy for each. Methods Using a realistic seizure simulator (CHOCOLATES), a ground truth was produced, which was then sampled to generate signals from simulated seizure detectors of various capabilities. Five use cases were evaluated: (1) randomized clinical trials (RCTs), (2) medication adjustment in clinic, (3) injury prevention, (4) sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) prevention, and (5) treatment of seizure clusters. We considered sensitivity (0%–100%), false alarm rate (FAR; 0–2/day), and device type (external wearable vs. implant) in each scenario. Results The RCT case was efficient for a wide range of wearable parameters, though implantable devices were preferred. Lower accuracy wearables resulted in subtle changes in the distribution of patients enrolled in RCTs, and therefore higher sensitivity and lower FAR values were preferred. In the clinic case, a wide range of sensitivity, FAR, and device type yielded similar results. For injury prevention, SUDEP prevention, and seizure cluster treatment, each scenario required high sensitivity and yet was minimally influenced by FAR. Significance The choice of use case is paramount in determining acceptable accuracy levels for a wearable seizure detection device. We offer simulation results for determining and verifying utility for specific use case and specific wearable parameters.
It is a major challenge in clinical epilepsy to diagnose and treat a disease characterized by infrequent seizures based on patient or caregiver reports and limited duration clinical testing. The poor reliability of self-reported seizure diaries for many people with epilepsy is well-established, but these records remain necessary in clinical care and therapeutic studies. A number of wearable devices have emerged, which may be capable of detecting seizures, recording seizure data, and alerting caregivers. Developments in non-invasive wearable sensors to measure accelerometry, photoplethysmography (PPG), electrodermal activity (EDA), electromyography (EMG), and other signals outside of the traditional clinical environment may be able to identify seizure-related changes. Non-invasive scalp electroencephalography (EEG) and minimally invasive subscalp EEG may allow direct measurement of seizure activity. However, significant network and computational infrastructure is needed for continuous, secure transmission of data. The large volume of data acquired by these devices necessitates computer-assisted review and detection to reduce the burden on human reviewers. Furthermore, user acceptability of such devices must be a paramount consideration to ensure adherence with long-term device use. Such devices can identify tonic-clonic seizures, but identification of other seizure semiologies with non-EEG wearables is an ongoing challenge. Identification of electrographic seizures with subscalp EEG systems has recently been demonstrated over long (>6 month) durations, and this shows promise for accurate, objective seizure records. While the ability to detect and forecast seizures from ambulatory intracranial EEG is established, invasive devices may not be acceptable for many individuals with epilepsy. Recent studies show promising results for probabilistic forecasts of seizure risk from long-term wearable devices and electronic diaries of self-reported seizures. There may also be predictive value in individuals' symptoms, mood, and cognitive performance. However, seizure forecasting requires perpetual use of a device for monitoring, increasing the importance of the system's acceptability to users. Furthermore, long-term studies with concurrent EEG confirmation are lacking currently. This review describes the current evidence and challenges in the use of minimally and non-invasive devices for long-term epilepsy monitoring, the essential components in remote monitoring systems, and explores the feasibility to detect and forecast impending seizures via long-term use of these systems.