AI-powered technology at local Franciscan Health hospitals is enhancing neurological care.

Franciscan Health has started using the Ceribell System at its hospitals across Northwest Indiana and the Chicago south suburbs. The system is an electroencephalography (EEG) device powered by artificial intelligence. The Ceribell System helps detect and treat potentially life-threatening seizures, reducing hospital transfers.

“For our patients it provides rapid, bedside EEG to help detect seizures in various clinical presentations,” said Dr. Derwin Philip, Franciscan Health Olympia Fields medical director of emergency services, in a press release. “It not only helps for faster diagnosis and treatment, but also for improved clinical outcomes, overtreatment avoidance and unnecessary admissions or transfers.”

Franciscan Health Crown Point, Dyer, Michigan City, Munster and Olympia Fields employ the device in their hospitals. The Ceribell System has been adopted by more than 500 hospitals across the nation. It has been used to diagnose and monitor over 200,000 patients.

Designed for rapid seizure detection and continuous monitoring, the technology enables local hospital teams to quickly make treatment decisions and potentially provide better outcomes for patients at risk of non-convulsive seizures.

These seizures occur without obvious symptoms, making them difficult to detect and often delaying treatment. Without prompt management with anti-seizure medication, non-convulsive seizures can become more difficult to manage. Similar to stroke, “time is brain” for seizures and prompt diagnosis and intervention are critical as treatment efficacy declines with every hour of delay.

The Ceribell System includes a headband, a portable recorder and AI-driven software. A recent analysis found that compared to conventional EEG, initial assessment with Ceribell was associated with a median reduction of ICU stay by four days.

“It empowers clinicians to make more informed decisions at the bedside, improving outcomes for patients with various medical, neurological and psychiatric conditions,” Dr. Ryan Misek, Franciscan Health Crown Point vice president of medical affairs and emergency room physician, said. “This technology helps bridge the gap between immediate care and in-depth analysis, enhancing both efficiency and accuracy in the emergency department and critical care settings.”