Automated analysis and detection of epileptic seizures in video recordings using artificial intelligence

Introduction: Automated seizure detection promises to aid in the prevention of SUDEP and improve the quality of care by assisting in epilepsy diagnosis and treatment adjustment. Methods: In this phase 2 exploratory study, the performance of a contactless, marker-free, video-based motor seizure detection system is assessed, considering video recordings of patients (age 0–80 years), in terms of sensitivity, specificity, and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves, with respect to video-electroencephalographic monitoring (VEM) as the medical gold standard. Detection performances of five categories of motor epileptic seizures (tonic–clonic, hyperkinetic, tonic, unclassified motor, automatisms) and psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) with a motor behavioral component lasting for >10 s were assessed independently at different detection thresholds (rather than as a categorical classification problem). A total of 230 patients were recruited in the study, of which 334 in-scope (>10 s) motor seizures (out of 1,114 total seizures) were identified by VEM reported from 81 patients. We analyzed both daytime and nocturnal recordings. The control threshold was evaluated at a range of values to compare the sensitivity (n = 81 subjects with seizures) and false detection rate (FDR) (n = all 230 subjects). Results: At optimal thresholds, the performance of seizure groups in terms of sensitivity (CI) and FDR/h (CI): tonic–clonic- 95.2% (82.4, 100%); 0.09 (0.077, 0.103), hyperkinetic- 92.9% (68.5, 98.7%); 0.64 (0.59, 0.69), tonic- 78.3% (64.4, 87.7%); 5.87 (5.51, 6.23), automatism- 86.7% (73.5, 97.7%); 3.34 (3.12, 3.58), unclassified motor seizures- 78% (65.4, 90.4%); 4.81 (4.50, 5.14), and PNES- 97.7% (97.7, 100%); 1.73 (1.61, 1.86). A generic threshold recommended for all motor seizures under study asserted 88% sensitivity and 6.48 FDR/h. Discussion: These results indicate an achievable performance for major motor seizure detection that is clinically applicable for use as a seizure screening solution in diagnostic workflows.