Daily Archives: November 30, 2020

New Children’s ESN in Scotland health board

A new children’s epilepsy specialist nurse (ESN) has been appointed by the NHS Dumfries and Galloway health board. For years’ this was reportedly the only mainland health board without a specialist paediatric ESN in Scotland.
Sarah Gemmel has taken the new role of epilepsy and complex needs lead at the health board. The charity Epilepsy Scotland and families of children with epilepsy have campaigned for this appointment.
Sarah Gemmel said I am excited to take on this new role that will provide the essential service for offering practical and emotional support to children and families in Dumfries and Galloway.

Seizure prediction device could give hour’s notice

A wearable device has been developed that can predict a seizure an hour before onset with potentially 97% accuracy.
The device called Epiness has been developed by Israeli researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. The device uses machine learning algorithms and EEG based monitoring of the brain activity.
The product which is not available to buy yet is due to undergo clinical trials later this year.
In development and testing large EEG datasets were used, and the prediction performance reached 97% accuracy.
For people with epilepsy whose seizures are not controlled an effective prediction device could help reduce injuries and increase independence.
Source Epilepsy Action

Five Year Old “hero” helps mum during seizure

A five year-old girl has been called a “hero” for getting help when her mum had a seizure.
Lisa Wainwright had a seizure out of the blue at her Derbyshire home when she was alone with her daughters Esme, five and Amelia, two.
When the seizure started Esme handed her mum the phone who then typed a message to her husband Ash, When Ash rang back Esme picked up the phone and told him what had happened. She unlocked the door when he came home.
He saw that she had covered her mum over with a blanket and had stopped her little sister from crying by setting up her tablet for entertainment.
The 34 year old mum of two called Esme a “hero” and a “superstar” and said she’s really proud of Esme.