Around the world, 50 million people have recurring epileptic seizures. More than 37,000 children are being diagnosed each year with recurring seizures, according to Indiegogo.com.
Seizures at night can be a major problem, destroying sleep for many who are trying to stay awake in case of seizures for themselves or family members.
Charles and Cynthia Anderson are parents who had been dealing with the difficulties of caring for their son who is subject to seizures. Fortunately, Charles' skills as an engineer enabled him to create SAMi.
SAMi is a camera which works in the dark, sounding an alarm at unusual movement. Initially, the first model in 2009 was used with a security camera and a laptop. Later, the Apple iOS was used to capture video and audio for iPads, iPhones and iPods.
Using SAMi has made all the difference so that Charles and Cynthia can sleep at night, reassured that if their son had a seizure, they would be alerted.
Determined to make their invention available to other families struggling with the same problem, Charles and Cynthia entered the annual Shark Tank Competition in 2012. SAMi won the competition.
Since that time, the Epilepsy Foundation has partnered with SAMi, eventually supplying customers in Australia and Canada as well as the United States.
An Indiegogo campaign is in play to raise money for improvement of SAMi, adding more features and increasing production. The partnership of SAMi and the Epilepsy Foundation intends to give SAMi to charitable organizations.
Using SAMi is superior to using a baby monitor because the monitor will alert parents to any noise or movement. SAMi will not disturb much-needed sleep for normal night-time movement or sounds.
To check on a monitor's alert, a parent may need to check the child's room, which can also wake a sleeping child. SAMi can be checked remotely.
SAMi is also useful for the epileptic adult who lives alone, by recording nighttime movements that can be looked over the next day.
For people on the move, a portable monitoring system is a plus.SAMi can be used without a dedicated Wi-Fi router.
SAMi works in total darkness, due to its infrared camera with nighttime illuminators. Its QI code camera link allows for simple setup, and maximum security.
Wired Ethernet connection is optional. This provides the greatest performance and reliability.
Temporal and spatial filtering gives better sensitivity, and cuts down on the chance of false alarms.
The SAMi app can be downloaded for free from iTunes.
Sources:
Epilepsy Foundation - SAMi. Indiegogo.com. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/epilepsy-foundation-sami
Parents launch an Indiegogo campaign for a night-time seizure monitor. Medcitynews.com. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
http://medcitynews.com/2014/06/epilepsy-foundation-partners-sami-launch-...
SAMi. SAMialert.com. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
http://www.samialert.com/details
Reviewed July 8, 2014
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Visit Jody's website at http://www.ncubator.ca