News and Media
Read news highlighting research in Mayo Clinic's Bioelectronics Neurophysiology and Engineering Lab, led by Gregory A. Worrell, M.D., Ph.D.
Wearable devices and EEG under the scalp predict seizures with near-perfect accuracy
Neurology Today — April 2023
Implantable devices can warn people with epilepsy when they are at higher risk for a seizure. Mayo Clinic scientists in collaboration with researchers at King's College London and the University of Melbourne tested different wearable watches and an implantable EEG brain-monitoring device.
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New wristband capable of detecting seizures in people with epilepsy before they occur
StudyFinds — December 2021
A Mayo Clinic pilot study, in collaboration with the Bioelectronics Neurophysiology and Engineering Lab, tests wearable technology to help people with epilepsy predict seizures before they occur.
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Fast brainwave oscillations identify and localize epileptic brain
College of Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University — April 2021
Bin He, Ph.D., a professor of biomedical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic, leads groundbreaking imaging research. Dr. He's team combines clinical application and engineering innovation to develop a safe, noninvasive, cost-effective and quicker imaging option for people with epilepsy.
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Journalist Ann Curry hopes crowdsourcing can solve medical mysteries
Brain&Life — August/September 2019
The weekly live television series Chasing the Cure brings medical crowdsourcing to television. In addition to connecting people with similar conditions online, medical experts, researchers and techies can join physician forums to present different perspectives.
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Epilepsy Foundation awards $300,000 in grants to support the commercialization of two novel approaches for the treatment of epilepsy
Epilepsy Foundation — January 2019
The Epilepsy Foundation today announced it has awarded New Therapy Commercialization Grants totaling $300,000 to leading scientists with the goal of accelerating the development of therapies for those living with poorly controlled seizures.
Dr. Worrell was awarded $150,000 to advance his work with Cadence Neuroscience, which has developed a protocol that tests a variety of electrical stimulation parameters. Testing happens while an individual with intractable epilepsy is undergoing phase II evaluation for surgery. Preliminary evidence suggests that this procedure can be used to tailor brain stimulation therapy to each individual and enhance seizure control, compared with currently used protocols. Funds from this award will be used to develop a user-friendly workstation to allow other clinicians to personalize and optimize brain stimulation therapies for epilepsy.
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Epilepsy Foundation awards $3 million grant to international team of scientists to improve seizure forecasting
Epilepsy Foundation — October 2018
A research team led by Benjamin H. Brinkmann, Ph.D., and Dr. Worrell aims to enhance prediction capabilities by better understanding changes in the body that induce seizure activity.
In the initial phase of the award, the team will evaluate biosensors that can track an individual's physiology, behavior and environment from a range of commercially available devices. Following testing, the team will select up to three peripheral sensors to move forward for seizure forecast testing in year two. People with epilepsy will be pairing the peripheral sensors selected with their already implanted EEG recording devices.
The EEG system used will depend on the recruitment site:
- King's College London — UNEEG ambulatory subscalp EEG.
- Mayo Clinic — Medtronic RC+S intracranial device.
- Seer Medical-The University of Melbourne — Seer Medical ambulatory video EEG, SeerGP app, and subscalp EEG.
The vision is to measure a few components along with myriad factors, and then mine the data for new clues about what happens in the body in the hours and minutes before a seizure. Once the data has been collected, it will be shared with the research community through crowdsourcing platforms to facilitate algorithm development.
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Brainstorming on epilepsy
Discovery's Edge magazine — August 2019
Epilepsy strikes without warning — when an electrical storm sweeps across the brain. Storm-chasing teams of researchers have adopted computational techniques to pinpoint and predict seizure activity.
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Epilepsy patient married and seizure-free after new treatment at Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic News Network — June 2018
Chris White battled epileptic seizures his entire life. After failing to find relief from any available treatments, his doctors at Mayo Clinic tried a novel approach, implanting deep brain stimulation electrodes in his brain. The results have been life-changing.
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Can electrical stimulation of the brain enhance mind?
Oxford University Press Blog — May 2018
Research on electrical brain stimulation by Dr. Worrell and his colleagues inside and outside of Mayo Clinic indicate the potential for novel treatments to improve mental processes and memory.
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FIRST TEAM competition
Foundation for Polish Science — Ongoing
The FIRST TEAM program supports young researchers at the key stage of their careers — as they begin to build their research independence — helping them take on the most interesting research challenges. Research and development studies may be financed to approximately 2 million Polish zloty (PLN) for a three-year period. The grants are financed from the Smart Growth Operational Programme.
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Videos
Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast: Seizure forecasting device could help patients anticipate seizures