WEMU is a new kind of smart clothing system made for Epilepsy monitoring and diagnosis. Consisting of a smart clothing (shirt + hat), smartphone app and cloud service – it is a collaborative effort of a French medical device company Bioserenity, British epilepsy organization Epilepsy Action, and French epilepsy organization Efappe. And it is raising funds and awareness at Indiegogo as we speak. The goal, if they manage to reach their target, is to improve the accuracy of diagnosis, reduce diagnostic time, and help design a more accurate drug regimen for each individual patient.
The mentioned smart clothing integrates biometric sensors that collect data through electric signals such as heart activity (electrocardiogram), muscle contraction (electromyogram) and brain activity (electroencephalogram). WEMU relies on patented dry-sensor technology in combination with flexible electronic circuitry embedded into fabric and powered by lightweight rechargeable battery to create a comfortable to wear, long-term monitoring system.
WEMU relies on patented dry-sensor technology in combination with flexible electronic circuitry embedded into fabric to create a comfortable to wear, long-term monitoring system.The smartphone app receives the collected physiological data through Bluetooth LE, and this information is then analyzed, multiplexed with the video from the phone and stored locally on the device. If a patient gives its consent, the app will securely upload the data to the Cloud, enabling doctors to visualize information and provide a diagnosis. Furthermore, the cloud infrastructure allows for big data analysis where trends, evolution, and metrics can be developed for one patient or for a group of patients.
Because the WEMU servers utilize machine learning algorithms, the system will be able to detect trends in epileptic behavior, thus allowing the device to sound an alarm in case of high risk of seizure. This in turn will give patients, parents and love ones greater piece of mind, knowing that the risk of seizure is under constant surveillance.
The prototype of the WEMU was developed with the input of medical doctors both specialists and generalists, across several countries. A medical advisory board of 3 doctors is following the development of the project.
If the WEMU team manages to raise $200.000, they will be able to launch production as scheduled. Even better, if they hit the $500.000 mark, they will be able to add additional sensors like an oxymeter or an accelerometer to improve both understanding of the environmental factors linked to epilepsy and the ability to forecast risk of seizure. A single WEMU system goes for $700, and the estimated delivery date is set for April 2015.