Miku Joins Forces with Boston Children's Hospital in Research Study to Develop Seizure Detection Solution

Study Enabled By $250,000 Prize Grant Through The Epilepsy Foundation's Shark Tank Competition

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ahead of November's National Epilepsy Awareness Month, Miku, the company that revolutionized the pediatric wellness space using a contactless respiratory & sleep monitoring system, in collaboration with Boston Children's Hospital announced a first-of-its-kind epilepsy research study using an investigational monitoring device. In early 2021, Miku and Dr. Tobias Loddenkemper of Boston Children's Hospital participated in The Epilepsy Foundation's Shark Tank Competition, which seeks the most innovative ideas in epilepsy treatment and care. In total, 25 individuals or teams entered the competition from the United States and seven other countries around the world. Miku and Dr. Loddenkemper were proudly named the Investment Prize Winner and awarded $250,000 to kick off the study. This research aims to monitor and ultimately detect Generalized Tonic-Clonic Seizures, which occur in 25% of all patients with seizures and are the most common type of generalized seizure in adults. These seizures are also a major risk factor for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP).

The IRB-approved study aims to capture Generalized Tonic-Clonic Seizure events on study participants. Patients will be monitored by Miku's contact-free SensorFusion® technology and, simultaneously, a video-EEG system, the industry-regarded 'gold standard' of hospital monitoring.

"We're very excited that this study can push us closer to early detection, which may help patients get treatment sooner, and ultimately benefit the epilepsy community. With Miku's contact-free monitoring, this is an enormous opportunity to collect better data and develop a detection method that can help more people in more homes." - Tobias Loddenkemper, MD, Director of Clinical Epilepsy Research, Boston Children's Hospital.

Research from this study will be submitted to a peer-reviewed publication. Additionally, Miku intends to use the study's data to both train and ultimately validate Miku's seizure detection algorithms and AI.

"In the future, Miku's research hopes to unlock the keys to not only detecting generalized tonic-clonic seizures but also predicting seizure activity before it occurs based on longitudinal wellness trends in respiration, heart rate and sleep combined with the patient's history of seizures," says Eric White, Miku Co-founder and Chief Product & Technology Officer. "Miku is also exploring the potential to detect other types of seizures where the patient doesn't have obvious movements, known as Absence Seizures."

Miku's contact-free SensorFusion® monitoring solution has the potential to reduce usage compliance issues by eliminating the need for wearing, charging, or cleaning a wearable device, devices which can often be uncomfortable for a patient to wear while sleeping. In pediatric care, Miku's wearable-free monitoring would reduce the chance for a patient to remove a wearable and create dangerous gaps in monitoring. Beyond wearables, SensorFusion® technology would overcome the challenges of existing camera-only or under-mattress devices. In scenarios with blankets, obstructions and shadows in a crib or bed of any size, Miku continues to provide monitoring coverage for caretakers.

"We heard incredible support from our conversations with parents of children with epilepsy. We knew there was a real need in the community for a contactless epilepsy monitoring solution. We're honored to work with Boston Children's Hospital and the Epilepsy Foundation to develop a revolutionary contactless solution for General Tonic-Clonic Seizure detection, using Miku's radar, sound, and video capabilities," said Colt Seman, Miku Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer.

"The Shank Tank Competition is one of many research investment initiatives we have that foster the development of innovative ideas and help bring them to market faster," said Jacqueline French, MD, Chief Medical and Innovation Officer, Epilepsy Foundation. "It is promising to see Miku's investigational epilepsy detection technology move from development to the clinical studies phase, providing hope to parents and caregivers of loved ones experiencing seizures."

Miku is a pediatric health monitoring company creating products that make it easy for parents to understand their child's sleep and respiratory behaviors and trends. The contact-free Miku Pro Smart Baby Monitor and corresponding analytics platform give parents easy access to breathing and sleep data, all without the use of a wearable.

Founded in 2018, Miku's products and proprietary, clinically-tested SensorFusion™ technology have received accolades from Fast Company, CES, Good Housekeeping, Babylist, Digital Trends, and more for innovation, design, and overall industry best-of. Partnered with established universities, hospital systems, research organizations, investors, and leaders, Miku is pioneering contactless monitoring in the pediatric space. For more information, please visit mikucare.com. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

With a network of partners throughout the United States, the Epilepsy Foundation is leading the fight to overcome the challenges of living with epilepsy. The Foundation connects people to treatment, support and resources; leads advocacy efforts; funds innovative research and the training of specialists; and educates the public about epilepsy and seizure first aid. For more than five decades, the Epilepsy Foundation has shone a light on epilepsy to promote awareness and understanding, and to advocate for laws that matter to people with epilepsy, while also funding epilepsy research and supporting epilepsy investigators and specialists in their early careers. In partnership with the CDC, the Epilepsy Foundation has helped to improve access to care for people with epilepsy, expanded its digital reach and online resources in homes across the country, and trained more than 600,000 people in seizure recognition and first aid. The Epilepsy Foundation continues to focus on serving the epilepsy community through advocacy, education, direct services and research for new therapies. To learn more visit epilepsy.com or call 1.800.332.1000. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Media Contact:
Kelly LaPrade Brown
The Last Layer
[email protected]

SOURCE Miku