Migraine is a neurological disorder that manifests itself as a severe or severe headache. It is also a complex process that consists of several phases that can be quite prior to this pain. However, this is the symptom of migraine that most worries the patient, since it impacts their quality of life. To try to overcome this stumbling block, artificial intelligence (AI) offers a novel solution for those who suffer from this disease on a chronic basis. That is the purpose of the technology start-up BrainGuard, creator of a tool capable of predicting migraine pain with an average advance of 25 minutes and an accuracy of 75%.
The start-up, born at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) in collaboration with the Hospital Universitario de la Princesa, has brought together a heterogeneous team of clinical researchers, neurologists and engineers to develop a device that is currently in the manufacturing phase . The results it achieves are possible thanks to the outpatient monitoring of the physical and hemodynamic variables of the patients. Through these it is possible to collect the dysregulations produced in the nervous system prior to the pain that accompanies migraine.
The system has a wearable bracelet format, a technological device with microprocessors that the user can carry thanks to its size and design. Continuous monitoring of body temperature, heart rate or sleep rhythm, among other variables, allows you to recognize anomalies in real time and report an upcoming migraine. “They are variables that we can collect in a non-invasive way, without interfering in the life of the affected person,” says José Luis Ayala, CEO of the project and professor at the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM).
Personalized information
The information that reaches the user is personalized: different elements that may affect pain are assessed depending on the patient. The probability that the pain appears is shown like the lights of a traffic light through an app. Once it has been warned, the user can decide in advance what to do. Stopping driving, following the neurologist’s instructions, or staying in a quiet environment are some of the guidelines you can take.
In this way, patients can follow the basic recommendation: “Take a certain medication when any symptoms appear.” A difficult circumstance to foresee, according to Ayala: “ It is very difficult for the patient to detect if they have a migraine symptom; then wait and when you take the medication it is already late, the peak of the migraine has already begun “. In this sense, BrainGuard offers an important and very useful advantage: it can indicate to the patient well in advance the arrival of a migraine to allow him to take the medicine as early as necessary so that he can assimilate it and take effect.
By: Mario Ruiz
