SUDEP Action deals daily with devastated parents and friends who have lost someone to epilepsy.

There are about 600,000 people with epilepsy in the UK. Around a third of these have seizures despite medication. These people are at high risk of premature death. Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) kills around 600 people each year in the UK. Young adults are at particular risk. They are often alone at the time of death.

What causes SUDEP? The exact causes of SUDEP deaths are not always known. However, apnoea (breathing stopping) is the most likely cause. In some cases the heart stops first. Either way, if there were a monitor to give the alarm when someone stopped breathing, then there may be a chance of saving that life through CPR.

What will this project aim to achieve? Imagine a world where no parent has to go through the dreadful experience of losing their son or daughter to SUDEP. The goal of this project is to help make that vision a reality.

Professor John Duncan of UCL has developed a tiny device which can detect when people stop breathing. This project will test it on 50 people with epilepsy. If breathing stops, an alarm is triggered. There is currently no such device in production. The ultimate aim is to produce a minute device which could be worn all the time by people at high risk of SUDEP.

Please help us fund a scientific trial into the efficacy of this device on people with epilepsy. It could help prevent a death.