Concept Sunday: Embrace smartwatch can detect epileptic seizures

Empatica Embrace smartwatch conceptSmartwatches and other wearables are quickly catching on with consumers. The medical field is another area expected to quickly adopt wearable technology. We’ve already featured concept devices such as the Glycount diabetic management wearable and the wearable Alzheimer’s Pill Box. A team of designers have now come up with the Embrace smartwatch, a medical-grade wearable designed to detect upcoming epileptic seizures. But don’t expect a bulky device that looks like it just got out of the R&D lab. The Embrace is designed to be both useful and fashionable. Even those not at risk of epileptic seizures might want to wear one.

Empatica Embrace smartwatch concept

In order to help people living with epilepsy, first we have to get them to wear the technology. This is not an easy task. When devices are associated with a serious condition, users tend to feel uneasy about their own association with the stigma. They tend to be embarrassed because they feel the device marks them. Instead of making an “epilepsy device” we thought we should make a device everyone can enjoy. We created a really cool smart watch, targeted at general audience. A gorgeous watch for you, a device designed to save lives of those living with epilepsy.

The square Embrace sports a modern look. The band is designed to “visually split top and bottom elements and trick the eye into believing the device is only 4 millimetres thin.” Sporting a touchscreen display, a simple tap will quickly display the time. It also features an array of sensors, including a a gyroscope, accelerometer, temperature sensor and an electrodermal sensor to measure stress. Lest we forget, the Embrace is also a medical-grade device that can alert the wearer to an upcoming epileptic seizure.

Empatica Embrace smartwatch concept

Another unique feature of the Embrace smartwatch is that it can easily be converted for a child to use. The regular band can be replaced with a child-sized stretcheable one quickly. Younger children can wear it on their ankle and move it up to their wrist as they grow up.



Source : Behance