Technology
Teen goes from 10 nightly seizures to zero with brain implant
Imagine waking up seizure-free after years of suffering.
For 17-year-old Clara Fuller, this dream became reality thanks to groundbreaking brain implant technology.
Her journey from relentless seizures to a normal teenage life highlights the incredible potential of medical innovation.
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Brain implant patient Clara Fuller (NeuroOne)
A life turned upside down
At just 13, Clara began experiencing uncontrollable seizures that baffled doctors. Initially misdiagnosed with anxiety and gallbladder issues, she even underwent unnecessary surgery before doctors finally identified the real culprit: epilepsy. But this wasn’t just any epilepsy; Clara had multifocal epilepsy, a rare and severe form that resists all medication.
“Every night I would have seizures, up to 10, and it was just miserable,” Clara said, recalling the years lost to her condition.
Her adolescence was marked by sleepless nights and constant medical challenges, robbing her of the simple joys of being a teenager. For years, there seemed to be no solution in sight.
Brain implant patient Clara Fuller (NeuroOne)
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A revolutionary solution
Everything changed this past summer when Clara became the first pediatric patient to undergo a minimally invasive procedure at the Mayo Clinic using NeuroOne’s cutting-edge brain implant technology. The device, known as the NeuroOne OneRF Ablation System, is the first of its kind FDA-cleared technology designed for both diagnosing and treating neurological disorders in one procedure.
“It took them maybe 30 minutes, and the longest part was setting up,” Clara said about the procedure that transformed her life.
Dr. Brin Freund, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, explained Clara’s case in more detail:
“Clara has had a history of seizures that, unfortunately, were uncontrolled with medications. In these cases, surgery may be the only option to reduce and potentially cure the seizure disorder. After a thorough diagnostic evaluation, our group at Mayo Clinic Florida recommended implantation of electrodes (stereoelectroencephalography, or stereo EEG) in the brain to determine where her seizures were originating, in order to develop a surgical plan to treat them.
“Clara and her family were very much in agreement with this plan, given how debilitating her seizures had been and the failure to control her seizures with medications. Clara underwent implantation of NeuroOne electrodes in order to record seizure activity to determine where her seizures were arising from and then to potentially treat them by performing radiofrequency ablation in these areas.”
Brain implant patient Clara Fuller (NeuroOne)
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How NeuroOne’s dual-function system works
The NeuroOne system uses ultra-thin electrodes to pinpoint the exact source of seizures in the brain. Once identified, it employs radiofrequency energy to disrupt abnormal electrical signals in problematic brain tissue without permanently damaging surrounding areas. This dual functionality, diagnostic and therapeutic, is what sets it apart from traditional methods that require two separate surgeries.
NeuroOne CEO Dave Rosa explained:
“What separates our technology from others is that our device can be used for both the diagnostic part – finding the area of the brain – and then ablating or destroying that tissue, all in the same hospitalization.”
He added that this approach minimizes patient risk by reducing the number of procedures and hospitalizations required.
Freund emphasized this advantage:
“Stereo EEG electrodes provide the ability to localize seizure onset with excellent precision as long as the electrode implantation is planned thoroughly and accurately. With regards to the NeuroOne electrodes, they allow for radiofrequency ablation to be performed while the electrodes are still implanted without having to remove them. We can therefore not only localize the seizure onset but provide a surgical treatment and potentially avoid a second and potentially more extensive or invasive procedure such as a craniotomy and resection of brain tissue.
“The NeuroOne electrodes allow us to control the conditions of the ablative procedure. They also provide us more confidence that the electrodes will withstand the duration of the implantation, which would include recording seizure data, performing the ablation and then recording more data after the ablation to ensure that the treatment achieved the intended goal.”
Brain implant patient Clara Fuller (NeuroOne)
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The results
The results have been nothing short of life-changing for Clara. Since undergoing the procedure, she has been completely seizure-free. She’s now back to enjoying school, sports and uninterrupted sleep – things most people take for granted but were once unimaginable for her.
According to Freund:
“Regarding the implantation itself, she did very well and there were no adverse effects. The first ablation did not cause any acute complications. We then performed a second ablation a few days later after data was recorded from the electrodes demonstrating ongoing seizure activity to ensure that her seizures would not recur. This was also well-tolerated without complications. We have now followed up months after the electrodes were removed and there have been no signs of ill effects due to the implantation or the ablations. She has been seizure-free since the ablation and has done amazingly well.”
Clara’s story offers hope for others living with drug-resistant epilepsy, which affects about one-third of the 3 million Americans with epilepsy. According to Rosa, “The desire to expand ablation therapy to patients suffering from seizures that do not respond to drug therapy was our driving force.”
NeuroOne One RF Ablation System (NeuroOne)
A broader impact on medicine
NeuroOne’s innovative technology isn’t just limited to epilepsy treatment. The company plans to expand its applications to other areas, such as pain management for facial pain and lower back pain, using the same RF ablation technology. Rosa also sees potential for treating neurological conditions beyond epilepsy:
“Pain management appears to be the largest opportunity outside of brain ablation.”
Dr. Freund believes this technology could dramatically improve long-term care for pediatric epilepsy patients like Clara:
“This technology could allow for limiting the number of procedures that are required to treat drug-resistant focal epilepsy and also provide immediate feedback as to whether or not a surgical treatment was effective. This could potentially reduce the risk of adverse events by limiting the number of times that a brain surgery would be needed. This technology also allows us to access deeper parts of the brain to provide surgical treatment.”
He added that the impact may soon be widespread:
“In our practice, we are now using these electrodes in every case that requires Stereo EEG for treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy. I think as these types of electrodes are used at more centers and they get more experience, there would be no reason not to use them.”
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NeuroOne One RF Ablation System (NeuroOne)
Kurt’s key takeaways
Clara’s remarkable journey from a life plagued by seizures to one of freedom and normalcy underscores how advancements in medical technology are transforming lives in profound ways. Her story offers hope for those struggling with drug-resistant epilepsy and other neurological conditions.
As technology continues to push boundaries, we can expect even more groundbreaking treatments to emerge, offering new possibilities for those who once felt limited by their conditions. In the words of NeuroOne’s CEO, this revolutionary technology promises a future where fewer surgeries and safer outcomes become the norm.
If you or someone close to you had epilepsy, would you consider trying innovative treatments like this? Why or why not? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.
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I’ve recommended several OLED gaming monitors to readers over the years, and I’ve finally taken my own advice to buy one. Alienware’s new 27-inch 1440p QD-OLED has all the features that I want and a low $350 price that was too tempting to ignore.
The AW2726DM model has five things that make it stand out for the price: a 1440p QD-OLED screen with lush contrast, a fast 240Hz refresh rate, a semi-glossy screen coating to enhance details, a low-profile design without flashy RGB LEDs, and a great warranty (three years with coverage for burn-in).
I’ve been using Alienware’s new monitor for a couple days, and I’ve already spent hours with it playing Marathon. It was my first opportunity to see Bungie’s new first-person extraction shooter in its full HDR glory, and I can never go back. Switching on HDR wasn’t automatic, though it already looked so much better than my IPS panel without being activated.
Enabling it transformed how Marathon looked for the better, but made everything else about the OS look pretty washed-out. It’s a Windows issue, not an Alienware issue. It’s easy to enable HDR every time I launch a game and disable it afterward with the Windows + Alt + B keyboard shortcut, but unfortunately triggers HDR for all connected displays. This includes my IPS monitor that imbues everything with a terrible gray hue when HDR is on. So, using the system settings is the best way to adjust HDR for just the QD-OLED.
I landed on this QD-OLED after having spent a ton of time researching pricier models. The unanimous takeaway from reviewers was that LG’s Tandem RGB WOLED panels are some of the brightest out there, but also tend to exhibit lousy gray uniformity in dark scenes. QD-OLED monitors, on the other hand, offer slightly better contrast than WOLED and don’t suffer from those same uniformity issues. However, blacks sometimes appear as dark purple in bright rooms on QD-OLED panels, meaning they’re ideal for rooms that don’t have a bunch of light bouncing around.
There’s no perfect choice, and honestly I got tired of doing research, so I jumped in with the cheapest OLED. I’m glad that I did. Shopping for an OLED gaming monitor can be hard, but it can also be this easy. AOC makes a model that’s discounted to $339.99 at the time of publishing, and its specs are comparable.
As expected, the AW2726DM isn’t a cutting-edge monitor. Its QD-OLED panel isn’t as fast or as bright as some other pricier options, and it doesn’t have USB ports for connecting accessories. Considering its low price, it’s easy for me to overlook those omissions. I’d have a much harder time accepting them in a pricier display.
The fact that I mostly use my computer for text-based work at The Verge is what prevented me from upgrading to an OLED monitor. My 1440p IPS monitor is bright, it’s good at showing text clearly, and it has a fast refresh rate for gaming. Alienware’s QD-OLED is less bright, and some might be bothered by how text looks (I have to really squint to see the slight fringing from this QD-OLED’s subpixel layout). But I have a life outside of work, which includes playing a lot of PC games. That’s the slice of myself I bought this monitor for, and I’m so happy I did.
Photography by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge
Technology
Michael and Susan Dell surpass $1 billion in donations backing AI-driven hospital project
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Billionaire Michael Dell and his wife, Susan Dell, have become the first donors to give more than $1 billion to the University of Texas at Austin, funding a massive new medical research campus and hospital system powered by artificial intelligence.
The couple’s latest investment includes a $750 million gift to help build the UT Dell Medical Center, a planned “AI-native” hospital expected to open in 2030 as part of a more than 300-acre advanced research campus.
University officials said the project will integrate research, clinical care and advanced computing to improve early disease detection, personalize treatment and expand access to care in the rapidly growing Austin region.
The Dells’ support builds on decades of contributions to UT, including funding for its medical school, scholarships and research programs.
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Michael Dell and Susan Dell attend the Breakthrough Prize ceremony as they become the first to donate more than $1 billion to the University of Texas at Austin. ( Craig T Fruchtman/WireImage)
“By bringing together medicine, science and computing in one campus designed for the AI era, UT can create more opportunity, deliver better outcomes, and build a stronger future for communities across Texas and beyond,” Michael Dell and Susan Dell said.
The gift ranks among the largest in the history of higher education, alongside major contributions like Phil Knight’s $2 billion pledge to Oregon Health & Science University and Michael Bloomberg’s $1.8 billion donation to Johns Hopkins University.
The new UT Dell Medical Center will be developed in collaboration with MD Anderson Cancer Center, integrating cancer care into a system designed to connect prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
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The University of Texas at Austin campus at sunset. (iStock)
“We will deliver better outcomes for patients by providing research-driven cancer care that is precise, compassionate and hope-filled,” Peter WT Pisters, president of UT MD Anderson, said.
Officials said the facility will be built from the ground up to incorporate AI, rather than retrofitting older infrastructure — an approach they say could transform how hospitals operate.
Independent experts have cautioned that AI in health care can introduce risks if not carefully validated. A widely cited study published in the journal Science by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Chicago found that a commonly used healthcare algorithm underestimated the needs of Black patients due to biased training data, highlighting broader concerns about equity in AI-driven systems.
The project also includes funding for undergraduate scholarships, student housing and the Texas Advanced Computing Center, where officials are developing one of the nation’s most powerful academic supercomputers.
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Artificial intelligence technology is expected to play a key role in diagnosis and patient care at the planned UT Dell Medical Center. (iStock)
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the investment will help position the state as a national leader in healthcare innovation.
“Texas already dominates in technology, energy and business, and now we will further cement our leadership in health care innovation as well,” Abbott said.
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The university said it plans to break ground on the medical center later this year and has launched a broader campaign to raise $10 billion over the next decade.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
SpaceX and Cursor are now working closely together to create the world’s best coding and knowledge work AI.
The combination of Cursor’s leading product and distribution to expert software engineers with SpaceX’s million H100 equivalent Colossus training supercomputer will allow us to build the world’s most useful models.
Cursor has also given SpaceX the right to acquire Cursor later this year for $60 billion or pay $10 billion for our work together.
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