Wearable warning systems
Sudden medical episodes are the most serious form of the disorder, and involve (17) ________ of consciousness and loss of physical control. It can be extremely (18) ________ for sufferers since these episodes often come on without warning, meaning they can injure themselves by falling or be at risk from, for example, (19) ________ vehicles if they collapse in a road. One affected cyclist, who suffered up to five episodes a month, had by the age of nineteen sustained two serious injuries and a number of broken bones from falls. There are devices, like navigation aids for users with partial or total (20) ________, designed to help patients deal with attacks by alerting relatives or (21) ________ the victim is not in a position of danger. However, a very small percentage of systems are also what are called ‘seizure-alert’; that is, they can detect a coming seizure up to half an hour before it happens and forewarn their wearers. Even minutes can give the victim the time to find a safe place, or even take a seizure-blocking medicine if that is available to and (22) ________ for them. It is not known quite how these devices know an attack is approaching, but engineers look for sensors that possess a (23) ________ sensitivity to sounds and smells, and a reliable link with phones. It is possible that such sensors are more sensitive to the trademark symptoms that precede an attack, or maybe there is a particular smell (24) ________ one. Whatever the reason, the device can literally change the life of the sufferer long trapped by their illness.