Reducing False Alarms and Missed Seizures in Night-Time Epilepsy Monitoring

For people living with epilepsy, night-time seizure monitoring provides essential reassurance for families, carers, and support teams. However, two key challenges are frequently reported:

  • False alarms caused by normal night-time movement
  • Missed seizures, where genuine events may not trigger an alert

Finding the right balance between sensitivity and accuracy is crucial. At Epilepsy Solutions, we support monitoring approaches that use insight and understanding — not guesswork — to improve night-time safety.

The Companion Monitor is designed to do exactly that.

Understanding What Happens Overnight

One of the biggest limitations of traditional seizure monitors is the lack of context around alerts. The Companion Monitor addresses this by logging event history and night-time movement, allowing carers and professionals to review what actually happened during the night.

This information helps to:

  • Identify alarms caused by normal movement rather than seizure activity
  • Review periods of movement where no alert was triggered
  • Understand individual sleep patterns and behaviour
  • Assess whether monitoring sensitivity is appropriate

This insight is essential when addressing both false alarms and missed seizures.

Smarter Monitoring Through Multiple Detection Methods

In addition to movement monitoring, the Companion Monitor supports several complementary features that enhance night-time safety:

Bed Vacation Monitoring

Bed vacation monitoring helps detect when a person has left their bed during the night. This can be particularly important following a seizure, during post-ictal confusion, or for individuals at risk of wandering. It also provides additional context when reviewing night-time events.

Sound Monitoring

Sound monitoring can alert carers to unusual or distress sounds during the night. When used alongside movement data, this can help identify potential seizure activity that may not involve significant movement, reducing the risk of missed seizures.

Enuresis Monitoring

Enuresis monitoring provides alerts for bed-wetting, vomiting and excessive saliva events, which may be relevant in epilepsy care, particularly following nocturnal seizures. Logging these events adds further insight when reviewing overnight activity and care needs.

Together, these features provide a more complete picture of night-time activity, supporting safer and more responsive monitoring.

Making Informed Adjustments with Confidence

With access to detailed event history across movement, sound, bed occupancy, and enuresis events, monitoring can be adjusted safely and confidently.

This may include:

  • Fine-tuning sensitivity to reduce false alarms
  • Ensuring alerts remain responsive to genuine seizure activity
  • Reviewing bed and sensor placement
  • Adapting monitoring as needs change over time

Rather than reducing alerts out of frustration, carers can make evidence-based adjustments that maintain safety while improving sleep quality.

Better Nights for Individuals and Families

Accurate monitoring means alerts are meaningful. When they occur, carers can respond with confidence, knowing the system is tailored to the individual.

The Companion Monitor supports:

  • Reduced false alarms
  • Lower risk of missed seizures
  • Improved sleep for individuals with epilepsy
  • Reduced anxiety for families and carers
  • A more personalised approach to night-time epilepsy care

Smarter Epilepsy Monitoring with Epilepsy Solutions

At Epilepsy Solutions, we understand that effective epilepsy monitoring requires more than a single sensor or alert. It requires technology that adapts to the individual and provides insight into what happens overnight.

By combining movement logging, event history, bed vacation, sound, and enuresis monitoring, the Companion Monitor supports safer, more informed night-time care for people living with epilepsy.