Pioneering Seizure Detection Using Eye Tracking | Dr. Rachel Kuperman MD

Our guest on this show is Dr. Rachel Kuperman MD, the CEO and Founder of Eysz, a medtech/AI startup that is transforming neurological care. Eysz has developed innovative software that analyzes eye movements and uses those movements as biomarkers to assess brain health across a range of neurological conditions, with an initial focus on epilepsy.

We get to hear from Rachel how the combination of her experiences caring for children with epilepsy combined with her understanding of technology and medicine as well as sheer persistence, resilience and willingness to adapt has led to her current business success.

We discuss topics such as:

• Epilepsy and AI innovation - measuring and managing neurological diseases
• Building a Team/Networking for your startup
• Entrepreneurship, funding, and confidence as a woman in tech.
• Creating an MVP or Minimum Viable Product and adopting the Lean Startup methodology
• The power of storytelling and igniting emotion in the health tech world
• Combining persistence and resilience with openness and adaptability

Host Ranjani Rangan provides important context and draws out Dr. Kuperman’s very personal narrative – from her love of treating patients to her frustration with the limits she encountered when it came to effectively improving their quality of life. 

Interested in learning more? Visit this link to read her blog, including “Journey of a Burnt Out Neurologist,” and contact Eysz for more information about progress in the treatment of epilepsy.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• (01:20) NEUROLOGIST ON A MISSION: About Dr. Rachel Kuperman and how she came to devote herself to developing a leading-edge medical device to treat epilepsy.
• (03:06) THE PROMISE OF EYSZ: Understanding a world in which 1 in 26 people have epilepsy and defining the uncertainty and stigma they face as a result of  seizures.  
• (04:10) BREAKING DOWN TYPES OF SEIZURES:
  • Convulsive seizures – involving the whole brain, the body dropping to the floor.
  • Absence seizures – involving the whole brain, brief loss of consciousness. 
  • Focal seizures – involving only part of the brain, impairing consciousness.
• (05:17) FROM NEUROLOGIST TO MED TECH ENTREPRENEUR: How the limits of medicine inspired Dr. Kuperman to embrace start-up innovation.
• (07:00) DATA IS THE FIRST STEP! About the power of quantifying not just numbers of seizures but related symptoms to create targeted treatments and measurable results.
• (09:50) IDEA INTO ACTION: How Dr. Kuperman migrated from innovating diagnostic tools in her practice to leaping into start-up culture – and personal growth!
• (12:16) LOOKING AT EYSZ: About how the team is building an FDA-approved Hyperventilation Recorder that leverages predictive data about Absence seizures.
• (14:00) BREAKING BOUNDS: A look at the technological advances and key partners that are accelerating Eysz’s remarkable med tech solutions.
• (15:07) MAKING THE MVP (Minimum Viable Product) JOURNEY:  What it looks like to use rapid iterations and ongoing customer feedback for agile product development.
• (18:14) MORE ABOUT EYSZ’S DEBUT PRODUCT: A phone app that diagnoses childhood sei