Riley Epilepsy Case Study

There’s no question for me, personally, as to the most intriguing question in the field of biological engineering. Nothing else even comes close to the question of how biology, medicine, and engineering can be brought together to treat epilepsy. I doubt the average biological engineer would agree with me, but the average engineer hasn’t had the experiences with epilepsy that I have had.
When my cousin Riley was eleven, he caught a virus. Shortly thereafter, he came down with a debilitating headache and had his first grand mal seizure. It was the beginning of a nine-year saga that continues into the present day, because Riley still has seizures. Along the way, he’s been through every possible application of modern science and technology, including …show more content…
Moreover, I have gained a profound appreciation for the benefits that an engineered treatment for epilepsy could provide for the millions of sufferers worldwide. Epilepsy is uniquely destructive in the uncertainty it introduces into the lives of its victims - seizures come and go with paralyzing unpredictability. In my cousin’s case, he is forced to structure much of his life around the possibility of a seizure at any moment, and it’s impossible to live a normal life under that constraint. Additionally, the chemical and electrical chaos of epilepsy and epilepsy treatments take harsh mental and emotional tolls - suffering that would be ameliorated by an effective treatment.
By taking courses like Neural and Biomedical Engineering during my CU education, I’ll be able to reinforce my personal experience with epilepsy with the science and skills I’ll need to pursue research in the field. Equipped with this knowledge, I will then use my Senior Thesis to conduct a research project aimed either at improving existing treatment technologies or developing entirely new