Shirt detects epileptic seizures and immediately calls a doctor

WEMU is a sensor-laden shirt that keeps track of epilepsy sufferers' physiological signs and alerts doctors of seizures.

Sudden attacks can affect people of all kinds, whether it’s those with heart problems, asthma, anxiety or epilepsy. The most difficult thing about living with these conditions is not being in control of when they occur. We recently saw LifeTip offer detailed cardiac monitoring to alert emergency services when a heart attack happns, and now WEMU is a sensor-laden shirt that keeps track of epilepsy sufferers’ physiological signs and alerts doctors of seizures.

Created by France-based Bioserenity, the lightweight shirt can be worn underneath another layer and uses biometric sensors to track heart activity and muscle contraction. The shirt also comes with hat that can be worn while at home or sleeping that monitors brain activity.

The information is sent to patients’ smartphones via Bluetooth and uploaded to a cloud system so health professionals can also access the data. Using the WEMU app or software, both doctors and patients can easily see their vital signs and get alerts when a seizure takes place. If it does, the doctor can immediately contact emergency services and connect with the patients’ family or friends through video chat on their smartphone, delivering advice on how to help. The app also helps track meals and treatment intake to remind patients if they’ve skipped their pills, or if a particular food is triggering attacks.

WEMU could help save patients’ lives, but it’s also useful for doctors to diagnose epilepsy. The condition is notoriously difficult to diagnose because patients need to be hospitalized while their seizures are monitored over 48 hours, but even this isn’t enough to make an accurate assessment. WEMU enables continuous, home-based monitoring that can give doctors a better indication of the best course of treatment.

Watch the video below to learn more about WEMU:

In the US, there are 2.2 million epilepsy sufferers, but only 60 per cent receive adequate treatment, according to Bioserenity. WEMU could help to drastically improve their quality of life as well as help medical researchers to improve therapy. The first early-bird kits are available for USD 700. Are there other conditions that could use smart shirts such as this to provide doctors with more accurate data about patients’ health?