Apple Watch could soon predict seizures

One of the most promising uses for the Apple Watch is its potential for improving health and fitness. And now, thanks to a new study from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the watch is being used for the first time as a tool to help those diagnosed with epilepsy.

EpiWatch, an app the school recently launched, will be the first to take advantage of the sensors in Apple’s wearable device for a medical study, said Gregory Krauss, a Johns Hopkins University professor of neurology and physician who specializes in the treatment of epilepsy.

There are already devices on the market that can take these measurements individually, Krauss said. But there’s no tool with quite the reach and versatility of the watch. From its vantage point on an epileptic’s wrist, the device can directly measure limb movement while also monitoring the blood flowing through the veins of someone in the throes of a seizure. The watch’s multiple sensors makes it far easier to collect all of that information and look at it together.

“It’s been a goal to have a method for detecting when a person’s first going into a seizure” for years, Krauss said. Now, the sensors in the Apple Watch give patients and researchers a unique way to measure several important measures such as heart rate, lucidity during a seizure and limb movement.

The school is using Apple’s ResearchKit, an open-source toolbox for medical studies introduced in March. Building on Apple’s secure framework for collecting information, scientists can enroll study participants and collect data from Apple gadgets through specially designed apps. In addition to epilepsy, researches have used the tool to gather data for studies on breast cancer, asthma, heart disease, autism and melanoma.

It’s easy to see why medical researchers have embraced this opportunity. Traditionally, studies require scientists to seek out participants from their local area, give them long forms to fill out, and schedule regular follow-up appointments. With the watch, anyone can download an app, register electronically from the comfort of their own home and agree to feed information back to researchers from across the country – no appointment needed.

The information gathered from the Hopkins study will help researchers design and launch an app specifically for people suffering from epilepsy, Krauss said. That will give those with epilepsy a way to notify their loved ones automatically when they’ve had a seizure and to help individuals track the condition and, with luck, make it easier to manage.

In addition to putting the research app on the App Store, Krauss said that his team is reaching out to epilepsy support groups to find study participants.

This story was originally published October 21, 2015 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Apple Watch could soon predict seizures."