A healthtech startup says its new pair of earbuds could change the game for people who suffer
seizures. The earbuds developed by NextSense can assess sleep quality and predict seizures.
A Google spinoff, NextSense is making earbuds cool by adding a brain assessment feature to them. The
startup is working on a set of earphones that can collect electrical impulses in order to research sleep
and neurological disorders.
The technology might make brain analysis easier, with the greater objective of making
electroencephalogram (EEG) capture easier. These earphones, according to NextSense, might alter the
game for those who suffer from seizures or other related illnesses. The earphones will allow researchers
to analyze such diseases while also providing a technique to anticipate future seizures.
Packing electrodes into a gadget as small as earphones has its own set of obstacles, especially
considering the complex mix of signals that our brains emit. At first, John Stivoric of X – Google’s
“moonshot lab” – was skeptical of the earphones.
An EEG sensor is one of the poorest sensors in the world – there’s environmental noise, surface noise,
body movements, and so on.” Emory University has been testing the earbuds for a few years now. And it
turns out that they’re really good at detecting the distinctive EEG signals that indicate a seizure on the
way. NextSense looks to be aiming to submit these earbuds to the FDA for approval later this year.
In addition to measuring seizures, the business believes that their earphones may be able to provide
users with a snapshot of their sleep quality.
NextSense’s new earbuds to change the game for those who suffer seizures
