NeuroBell

Background

The risk of having a seizure is greatest during the first days of life. They are often the most common manifestation and diagnostic indication of neonatal brain injuries, such as hypoxic-ischaemic injury, infection, and stroke, amongst others. These injuries require timely diagnosis and treatment. However, less than 30% of neonatal seizures present with convulsive movements, and thus require electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring to correctly diagnose and subsequently treat the patient. EEG monitoring is a complex procedure, requiring specialised personnel such as a neurophysiologist, to configure the equipment and interpret the hours of resulting EEG traces. This often restricts the use of EEG monitoring to tertiary hospitals, and even in such hospitals, the expertise is not readily available for EEG to be used routinely without significant delays.

What is Neurobell:

Building on the previous research of the INFANT Research Centre in the field of AI-based interpretation of neonatal EEG, the Neurobell project is developing a medical device that can both record patients’ EEG and provide AI-based interpretation on a portable and wireless device. This means that neonatal seizure detection and alerts can be achieved in real-time without requiring specialised expertise.

Stage of development:

The project is currently at prototype stage. The team expect to finalise the medical device design with industry partners by end of 2022 and to complete a clinical feasibility study of the device in 2023.

PR and news:

The project was awarded “Best use of AI in an academic research body” at the 2021 Irish AI Awards. https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/infant-research-centre-wins-best-application-of-ai-in-an-academic-research-body-in-the-national-ai-awards-2021.html

UCC Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/arid-30986299.html

Enterprise Ireland Student Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-31005007.html

Funding:

The Neurobell project is funded by the Enterprise Ireland Commercialisation Fund.

Principal Investigator: Dr Mark O’Sullivan

Co-Investigators: Prof. Geraldine Boylan, Dr Brian Walsh, Prof. Liam Marnane, Dr Alison O’Shea