Eisai Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Eisai Co., Ltd., today announced the launch of Ella the Jellyfish, the first Amazon Alexa skill designed for those affected by Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS). Available free of charge, the Alexa skill was created with input from children living with LGS, a rare and severe form of childhood-onset epilepsy, their families and caregivers. When a child has a debilitating disease, everyday life for them, their families and caregivers can be challenging. LGS can be characterized by frequent and unpredictable seizures, limited speech and mobility, cognitive impairment, and developmental delays. Approximately 70 percent of patients with LGS will show cognitive impairment at diagnosis and more than 50 percent suffer behavioral issues including hyperactivity, sleep disturbances, aggression, and autistic symptoms.

We live in a world of wireless signals flowing around us and bouncing off our bodies. MIT researchers are now leveraging those signal reflections to provide scientists and caregivers with valuable insights into people's behavior and health. The system, called Marko, transmits a low-power radio-frequency (RF) signal into an environment. The signal will return to the system with certain changes if it has bounced off a moving human. Novel algorithms then analyze those changed reflections and associate them with specific individuals.