Around 50 million people live with epilepsy globally, according to the WHO. The condition is characterized by seizures caused by an atypical activity of electrical impulses in the brain, with spinal cord electrostimulation being one of the possible alternatives for controlling these symptoms. With this in mind, researchers at the Santos Dumont Institute (ISD), located in Macaíba, Rio Grande do Norte, developed a brain-machine interface capable of automatically detecting the seizure period from neural signals, activating electrostimulation in the spinal cord at the time of the seizure.
The technology is described as a brain-machine interface, which establishes a direct path between the brain and an external device, combined with electrical stimulation of the spinal cord. The goal is to detect epileptic seizures at an “ideal moment” so that spinal cord stimulation can attenuate, or even cancel, the seizures.
The study's lead author is Erika Garcia Cerqueira, a biomedical engineer by training and a neuroengineer who graduated from the ISD's Postgraduate Program in Neuroengineering. The research was part of her master's thesis at the institution in 2022.
Now a PhD student in Spain, the scientist explains that the idea for the work came from an observation of the association between epilepsy and excess brain connectivity.
“As I delved deeper into the area of neuroengineering at ISD, I realized how prevalent epilepsy is, both in Brazilian society and in the global context. Although I already have friends and acquaintances who live with the condition, it was when I analyzed the data that I understood the magnitude of the impact that epilepsy has on society,” he says.
In a future version, the interface would have the potential to transform patients’ quality of life, as its configuration and expected results would allow overcoming barriers linked to the impacts of seizures that prevent patients from fully experiencing their experiences. “With a greater number of participants and after sufficient validation phases, it would be extremely important for this interface to be used in practice with people with epilepsy,” adds Erika.
In addition to Erika, the study also includes Raquel Medeiros and Mariane de Araújo e Silva, also neuroengineers who graduated from ISD; Fernando da Silva Fiorin, Ramón Hypolito Lima, André Felipe Oliveira de Azevedo Dantas, Abner Cardoso Rodrigues and Denis Delisle-Rodriguez. Ramón, André and Denis are professors and Fernando is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute.
Titled “Local field potential-based brain-machine interface to inhibit epileptic seizures using electrical spinal cord stimulation,” a paper outlining the findings was published in IOP Science’s Biomedical Physics & Engineering Express, a publication maintained by the UK’s Institute of Physics.
ISD and epilepsy
In addition to promoting research on epilepsy, the ISD is a reference in the care of people with drug-resistant epilepsy, that is, cases in which medications are not controlling seizures.
The institution's Specialized Rehabilitation Center (CER ISD) has a specific line of care for epilepsy, which receives people of all ages and covers the entire state of Rio Grande do Norte.
About ISD
The Santos Dumont Institute (ISD) is a Social Organization linked to the Ministry of Education (MEC) and includes the Edmond and Lily Safra International Neuroscience Institute and the Anita Garibaldi Center for Health Education and Research, both in Macaíba. ISD's mission is to promote education for life, forming citizens through integrated teaching, research and extension actions, in addition to contributing to a fairer and more humane transformation of Brazilian social reality.
