Designing a Bracelet to Detect Seizures
People with epilepsy face many challenges in their daily lives. Working with the Danny Did Foundation, an epilepsy awareness group, I led a team to design a product to make the lives of people with epilepsy easier and safer.
Research:
Talking to Parents and Users
We conducted a series of surveys and interviews to identify common challenges faced by people with epilepsy, as well as any needs that weren't being met by existing support products. From this, we identified two common dissatisfactions:
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Lack of public knowledge
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There are certain misconceptions about how to help someone having a seizure. Different types of epilepsy have different rescue treatments, and any other actions can range from ineffective to potentially deadly.
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Stigma of medical devices
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All of the available support devices look like medical devices, falling between LifeAlert and Fitbit in appearance. Users were dissatisfied with this, as the devices marked them as having a medical condition.
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Outcome:
Staying unnoticed until needed
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Based on this feedback, my team designed a bracelet with a sleek steel shell with internal circuitry that detects a seizure, and then broadcasts a customized recording, instructing bystanders of what steps to take in response.
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I did the circuitry design and construction, developed a CAD model of the bracelet, and 3D printed it.
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An accelerometer feeds motion data to the CPU, which monitors for seizure-like motion
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If a false signal is received, the user can cancel the message with a small switch on the side of the bracelet
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Customized messages allow for specific care instructions: any rescue medications to administer, and who to contact
This was an effective solution, fulfilling the needs we had identified in a simple but efficient manner. We had identified a white space in the market that hadn't been filled, and taken it upon ourselves to design a solution to fill the gap.