Medical Device Network

Ceribell’s AI EEG system reduces stay in ICU, study finds

Ceribell's EEG monitoring device reduces the average length of an ICU stay by four days, with fewer patients leaving the ICU with disabilities, compared to conventional EEG.

Ceribell’s AI-based electroencephalography (EEG) system reduces the stay in ICU and leads to fewer patients leaving with disabilities, compared to standard EEG.

Data from the study, published in the Neurocritical Care journal, found that using Ceribell's system in the ICU resulted in a median stay that was 4.1 days shorter compared to conventional EEG. Additionally, there was an 18%-point reduction in the number of patients discharged with poor scores on the modified Rankin scale, which measures functional disability.

The study is a propensity score-matched sub-analysis of 283 patient records from the SAFER-EEG trial, a retrospective study of adult patients monitored with EEG during a hospital stay.

EEG is a medical test that measures electrical activity in the brain. Standard EEG uses electrodes placed on the scalp to detect and record the signals generated by the brain. The data is then interpreted by a trained neurologist, which can sometimes delay diagnosis and treatment.

The Ceribell system uses AI to analyse the EEG data in real-time. This provides immediate feedback, helping to identify seizure activity or other abnormalities. This is especially beneficial when a neurologist is not immediately available. In the study, the system significantly expedited EEG acquisition, reducing the median time from 25.3 hours to 5.9 hours.

The system first won clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2017 and is commercially available in the US. The latest generation of Ceribell's AI algorithm, dubbed Clarity, is the first and only device to receive 510(k) clearance for diagnosing electrographic status epilepticus, according to Ceribell.

In September 2022, the California-headquartered company closed a $50m equity financing round led by Ally Bridge Group, building on a $53m Series C round raised the previous year. Ceribell said it would use the funds to continue commercial expansion and further development of the EEG system.

Ceribell’s CEO Jane Chao said: “These study results underscore the critical need for early assessment with point-of-care EEG and the ability for providers to improve patient care while reducing the length of stay and strain on hospital personnel through the use of the Ceribell system.”

AI will become a key driver of medical device innovation, according to GlobalData, which forecasts that the market for AI platforms for the medical devices industry will reach $1.2bn by 2027, up from $336m in 2022.

Last month, US-based medical equipment manufacturer Zeto secured 510(k) clearance from the FDA for its Zeto ONE EEG system across hospital, at-home, ambulance, and air transport environments. Data, including live AI-enabled seizure notifications, is streamed to the Zeto Cloud to allow live remote interpretations by neurologists.