Skip to main content
Advertisement
  • Neurology.org
  • Journals
    • Neurology
    • Clinical Practice
    • Genetics
    • Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation
  • Specialty Sites
    • COVID-19
    • Practice Current
    • Practice Buzz
    • Without Borders
    • Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
    • Innovations in Care Delivery
  • Collections
    • Topics A-Z
    • Residents & Fellows
    • Infographics
    • Patient Pages
    • Null Hypothesis
    • Translations
  • Podcast
  • CME
  • About
    • About the Journals
    • Contact Us
    • Editorial Board
  • Authors
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Author Center

Advanced Search

Main menu

  • Neurology.org
  • Journals
    • Neurology
    • Clinical Practice
    • Genetics
    • Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation
  • Specialty Sites
    • COVID-19
    • Practice Current
    • Practice Buzz
    • Without Borders
    • Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
    • Innovations in Care Delivery
  • Collections
    • Topics A-Z
    • Residents & Fellows
    • Infographics
    • Patient Pages
    • Null Hypothesis
    • Translations
  • Podcast
  • CME
  • About
    • About the Journals
    • Contact Us
    • Editorial Board
  • Authors
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Author Center
  • Home
  • Latest Articles
  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Residents & Fellows

User menu

  • Subscribe
  • My Alerts
  • Log in

Search

  • Advanced search
Neurology
Home
The most widely read and highly cited peer-reviewed neurology journal
  • Subscribe
  • My Alerts
  • Log in
Site Logo
  • Home
  • Latest Articles
  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Residents & Fellows

Share

August 08, 2017; 89 (6) Clinical/Scientific Notes

Wrist sensor reveals sympathetic hyperactivity and hypoventilation before probable SUDEP

Rosalind W. Picard, Matteo Migliorini, Chiara Caborni, Francesco Onorati, Giulia Regalia, Daniel Friedman, Orrin Devinsky
First published July 12, 2017, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000004208
Rosalind W. Picard
From Massachusetts Institute of Technology (R.W.P.); Empatica, Inc. (R.W.P., M.M., C.C., F.O., G.R.), Cambridge, MA; and NYU Langone School of Medicine (D.F., O.D.), New York, NY.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Matteo Migliorini
From Massachusetts Institute of Technology (R.W.P.); Empatica, Inc. (R.W.P., M.M., C.C., F.O., G.R.), Cambridge, MA; and NYU Langone School of Medicine (D.F., O.D.), New York, NY.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Chiara Caborni
From Massachusetts Institute of Technology (R.W.P.); Empatica, Inc. (R.W.P., M.M., C.C., F.O., G.R.), Cambridge, MA; and NYU Langone School of Medicine (D.F., O.D.), New York, NY.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Francesco Onorati
From Massachusetts Institute of Technology (R.W.P.); Empatica, Inc. (R.W.P., M.M., C.C., F.O., G.R.), Cambridge, MA; and NYU Langone School of Medicine (D.F., O.D.), New York, NY.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Giulia Regalia
From Massachusetts Institute of Technology (R.W.P.); Empatica, Inc. (R.W.P., M.M., C.C., F.O., G.R.), Cambridge, MA; and NYU Langone School of Medicine (D.F., O.D.), New York, NY.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Daniel Friedman
From Massachusetts Institute of Technology (R.W.P.); Empatica, Inc. (R.W.P., M.M., C.C., F.O., G.R.), Cambridge, MA; and NYU Langone School of Medicine (D.F., O.D.), New York, NY.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Orrin Devinsky
From Massachusetts Institute of Technology (R.W.P.); Empatica, Inc. (R.W.P., M.M., C.C., F.O., G.R.), Cambridge, MA; and NYU Langone School of Medicine (D.F., O.D.), New York, NY.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Full PDF
Citation
Wrist sensor reveals sympathetic hyperactivity and hypoventilation before probable SUDEP
Rosalind W. Picard, Matteo Migliorini, Chiara Caborni, Francesco Onorati, Giulia Regalia, Daniel Friedman, Orrin Devinsky
Neurology Aug 2017, 89 (6) 633-635; DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000004208

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Permissions

Make Comment

See Comments

Downloads
269

Share

  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Disclosures
Loading

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

We report a probable sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) in a 20-year-old man wearing a smartwatch that recorded wrist motion via 3-axis accelerometer (ACC) and electrodermal activity (EDA). EDA reflects sympathetic activity without parasympathetic antagonism.1 The smartwatch (Empatica [Milan, Italy] Embrace, with CE Medical clearance from the European Union for seizure detection) issued an alert, received by the caregiver at 8:50 am, indicating a probable convulsive seizure. An adult trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) arrived at 9:05 am, found the patient pulseless, prone, face in pillow with mucus in his mouth, and commenced CPR for 15 minutes without recovery. The family declined autopsy.

Footnotes

  • Author contributions: Rosalind Picard hypothesized the EDA finding and drafted the original manuscript. Matteo Migliorini conducted physiologic data analysis. Chiara Caborni conducted physiologic data analysis. Giulia Regalia conducted physiologic data analysis. Francesco Onorati verified the physiologic data analysis and wrote up these parts. Daniel Friedman helped interpret clinical data and revised the manuscript with clinical insights and guidance. Orrin Devinsky helped obtain and interpret clinical data and revised the manuscript with clinical insights and guidance.

  • Study funding: No targeted funding reported.

  • Disclosure: R. Picard is cofounder of Empatica and is a shareholder in Empatica. She serves as (unpaid, part-time) chief scientist and chairman of Empatica's board of directors. She is coinventor on an MIT-owned patent that relates to this work. M. Migliorini is an employee of Empatica and holds stock options in Empatica. C. Caborni is an employee of Empatica and holds stock options in Empatica. F. Onorati is an employee of Empatica and holds stock options in Empatica. G. Regalia is an employee of Empatica and holds stock options in Empatica. D. Friedman has disclosures not relevant to this manuscript. His NYU team has received a grant through the Epilepsy Foundation that involved research with Empatica devices. O. Devinsky has disclosures not relevant to this manuscript. His NYU team has received a grant through the Epilepsy Foundation that involved research with Empatica devices. Go to Neurology.org for full disclosures.

  • Received December 11, 2016.
  • Accepted in final form May 1, 2017.
  • © 2017 American Academy of Neurology
View Full Text

AAN Members

We have changed the login procedure to improve access between AAN.com and the Neurology journals. If you are experiencing issues, please log out of AAN.com and clear history and cookies. (For instructions by browser, please click the instruction pages below). After clearing, choose preferred Journal and select login for AAN Members. You will be redirected to a login page where you can log in with your AAN ID number and password. When you are returned to the Journal, your name should appear at the top right of the page.

Google Safari Microsoft Edge Firefox

Click here to login

AAN Non-Member Subscribers

Click here to login

Purchase access

For assistance, please contact:
AAN Members (800) 879-1960 or (612) 928-6000 (International)
Non-AAN Member subscribers (800) 638-3030 or (301) 223-2300 option 3, select 1 (international)

Sign Up
Information on how to subscribe to Neurology and Neurology: Clinical Practice can be found here 

Purchase
Individual access to articles is available through the Add to Cart option on the article page.  Access for 1 day (from the computer you are currently using) is US$ 39.00.  Pay-per-view content is for the use of the payee only, and content may not be further distributed by print or electronic means.  The payee may view, download, and/or print the article for his/her personal, scholarly, research, and educational use.  Distributing copies (electronic or otherwise) of the article is not allowed.

Disputes & Debates: Rapid online correspondence

  • Author response to Dr. Stewart
    • Rosalind W. Picard, Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technologypicard@media.mit.edu
    • M Migliorini, C Caborni, F Onorati, G Regalia, D Friedman, O Devinsky
    Submitted January 03, 2018
  • Precipitous increase in sympathetic activity is consistent with airway obstruction
    • Mark Stewart, Professor, Dean, SUNY Downstate Medical Centermark.stewart@downstate.edu
    Submitted September 07, 2017
Comment

NOTE: All authors' disclosures must be entered and current in our database before comments can be posted. Enter and update disclosures at http://submit.neurology.org. Exception: replies to comments concerning an article you originally authored do not require updated disclosures.

  • Stay timely. Submit only on articles published within 6 months of issue date.
  • Do not be redundant. Read any comments already posted on the article prior to submission.
  • 200 words maximum.
  • 5 references maximum. Reference 1 must be the article on which you are commenting.
  • 5 authors maximum. Exception: replies can include all original authors of the article.
  • Submitted comments are subject to editing and editor review prior to posting.

More guidelines and information on Disputes & Debates

Compose Comment

More information about text formats

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
Author Information
NOTE: The first author must also be the corresponding author of the comment.
First or given name, e.g. 'Peter'.
Your last, or family, name, e.g. 'MacMoody'.
Your email address, e.g. higgs-boson@gmail.com
Your role and/or occupation, e.g. 'Orthopedic Surgeon'.
Your organization or institution (if applicable), e.g. 'Royal Free Hospital'.
Publishing Agreement
NOTE: All authors, besides the first/corresponding author, must complete a separate Disputes & Debates Submission Form and provide via email to the editorial office before comments can be posted.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Vertical Tabs

You May Also be Interested in

Back to top
  • Article
    • Footnotes
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Disclosures
Advertisement

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.

Topics Discussed

  • All Epilepsy/Seizures
  • Patient safety

Alert Me

  • Alert me when eletters are published
Neurology: 96 (16)

Articles

  • Ahead of Print
  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Popular Articles
  • Translations

About

  • About the Journals
  • Ethics Policies
  • Editors & Editorial Board
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise

Submit

  • Author Center
  • Submit a Manuscript
  • Information for Reviewers
  • AAN Guidelines
  • Permissions

Subscribers

  • Subscribe
  • Activate a Subscription
  • Sign up for eAlerts
  • RSS Feed
Site Logo
  • Visit neurology Template on Facebook
  • Follow neurology Template on Twitter
  • Visit Neurology on YouTube
  • Neurology
  • Neurology: Clinical Practice
  • Neurology: Genetics
  • Neurology: Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation
  • AAN.com
  • AANnews
  • Continuum
  • Brain & Life
  • Neurology Today

Wolters Kluwer Logo

Neurology | Print ISSN:0028-3878
Online ISSN:1526-632X

© 2021 American Academy of Neurology

  • Privacy Policy
  • Feedback
  • Advertise