Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa (BBK) has opened the BBK Center for e-Health Innovation in Ermua, the Basque Country, designed to help come up with technological solutions for those who suffer from Dravet Syndrome.
The center will be run by the Dravet Syndrome Foundation, BBK and the Mondragón Center for Innovation in Embedded Technologies. It will also receive technical support from Microsoft and economic support from a BBK client.
The opening ceremony was led by the BBK President, Mario Fernández, and was also attended by the President of the Dravet Syndrome Foundation, Julián Isla; the Mayor of Ermua, Carlos Totorika; and Microsoft’s Manager of Institutional Relations, Montserrat Pardo.
As they explained, the center –located in offices donated by the Ermua Municipality at the Izarra Centre– will bring together different technology-based care programs to avoid the need to transfer patients.
Among the main care and education projects that will be set up is the home tele-rehabilitation program using Kinect technology. It will also develop tablet-based stimulation to improve cognitive functions and increase the patient’s independence.
The center will also promote a telemedicine program –via the installation of mobile devices, tablets and computers– and implement a night detection program for epileptic attacks using sensors –which will be installed in each patient’s home.
Dravet Syndrome, known as Severe Myoclonic Epilepsy of Infancy (SMEI), is a genetic pathology that hinders cognitive development and motor skills. It is a rare disease that causes prolonged convulsive fits that may be accompanied by fever, leaving neurological scars on children’s brains.
Source: EPSocial
