Smart glasses: finally a hope against photosensitive epilepsy

Good news for some individuals suffering from epileptic seizures! New glasses are in development and aim to provide an additional layer of safety for epilepsy patients on a daily basis. More specifically, this innovation targets patients whose seizures are triggered by photosensitivity.

An active filter to prevent photosensitive epileptic seizures

Today at the prototype stage, new glasses for people with epilepsy are being developed. Equipped with liquid crystal glasses – which function here as active filters – they would be capable of blocking more than 98% of light in the wavelength range of 660 to 720 nm; These frequencies are most likely to cause a seizure in people with photosensitive epilepsy.

The prototype integrates a discrete electronic circuit, placed in the frame of the pair of glasses. In certain situations that are more risky than others, such as watching television or playing a video game, the system will be able to heat the liquid crystals that make up the lenses in order to filter out dangerous wavelengths.

At this point, these glasses are not yet perfect: they only work when the ambient temperature is 26°C or lower and some adjustments seem necessary, such as improving the heating and cooling times.

If this innovation proves to be an advance combining different disciplines, including engineering, mathematics and neuroscience, it seems important to specify that photosensitive epilepsy only represents less than 5% of epileptic patients.