When Seconds Count: Wearable Data for Seizure Research
Reliably detecting epileptic seizures – and one day perhaps predicting them – is one of the most demanding tasks in clinical neurology. In the MEXT research project (Modular Extended Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich, an interdisciplinary team is investigating how reliable patterns can be derived from continuously recorded wearable vital data. Datico® contributes a central component to this: the MEXT app, which records high-resolution sensor data around the clock and makes it available for scientific analysis.
The University of the Bundeswehr Munich at a Glance
MEXT is an interdisciplinary research project at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich, funded by the Bundeswehr’s Center for Digitalization and Technology Research (dtec.bw). It brings together electrical engineering, physics, psychiatry, psychology as well as sport and materials science and, with around 50 participants at 13 locations, is a project of considerable scope. At its core, MEXT is developing a new generation of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) – a non-invasive method for the targeted stimulation of the brain – towards compact, mobile and data-driven systems. A central building block of this vision is data-driven closed-loop approaches that continuously monitor vital parameters. Since TMS can in rare cases trigger an epileptic seizure as a side effect, this continuous vital sign monitoring is not only scientifically relevant but also safety-critical – and therefore the direct starting point for the wearable-based seizure detection project.
The Challenge
Detecting seizures from physiological data requires two things: seamless, high-resolution data capture over long periods, and a reliable reference standard against which the wearable data can be validated. Conventional recording methods reach their limits here – media breaks between devices, limited sampling rates and the effort of securely merging data from different sources. For the research within the MEXT project, this meant there was no way to record the variables of multiple wearables around the clock at maximum resolution, mobile and data-protection-compliant, and hand them over to the analysing partner.
The Solution with Datico®
For this, Datico® developed the MEXT app – based on Datico® Wearable Connect in its Bluetooth variant. The app records the variables of the wearables in use directly on a smartphone or mobile device – continuously around the clock and at high resolution.
The project primarily used the Polar H10 as well as the Polar 360 and the Polar Loop wristband. The app captures their variables live via Bluetooth – including the single-lead ECG of the Polar H10 at 130 Hz, acceleration data at up to 200 Hz, plus skin temperature and further parameters at correspondingly high sampling rates. The data is first stored locally on the mobile device and then transferred via a secured path to project partner TNG Technology Consulting, which analyses it using machine-learning algorithms.
This makes the Datico® Data Value Chain visible in a concrete project:
- Data in Connection – multiple wearables (Polar H10, Polar 360 or Polar Loop) are connected via Bluetooth and captured in parallel.
- Data in Context – high-resolution raw and vital data form the basis from which patterns are derived via machine learning.
- Data in Communication – the recorded data is provided in a structured way for scientific analysis.
- Data in Consistency – the transfer is carried out securely and in compliance with data protection – essential when handling sensitive patient data.
The approach is validated in the neurology department of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU): in a specialized monitoring setting, patients are observed around the clock via EEG. In parallel, the Polar wearables record the same period via the MEXT app. This creates a synchronous reference dataset – the EEG as an established standard, the wearable data as the signal that the models are to learn to interpret.
Results and Benefits
The MEXT app has been in research operation for several months. It reliably records the wearables’ variables at the intended high resolution, transfers them securely and makes them available for analysis – the technical foundation of the project is therefore productively in use.
The scientific goal is twofold: on the one hand, the models are to learn to detect epileptic seizures from the wearable data at all; on the other hand, there is the prospect of predicting seizures early on the basis of the same data – recognizing them in advance. Datico®‘s decisive contribution lies in making the necessary data foundation possible in the first place: seamless, high-resolution, mobile and secure.
In the Customer’s Words
“With the Datico® MEXT app, we are recording our study participants’ vital data around the clock for the first time at the resolution our analysis really needs – mobile, stable and data-protection-compliant. That is the foundation on which we can advance seizure detection scientifically.”
— Alexander Hainz, Software Development Project Lead, University of the Bundeswehr Munich
Conclusion
The MEXT project shows how robust scientific insights can emerge from continuous wearable data. Datico® provides the data-technical foundation for this – from connecting the sensors to the secure handover for analysis. High-resolution raw data is thus turned into analysable patterns: Better Data. Better Decisions. Better Outcomes.