Meet the biophysicist whose seizure-detection company is using AI to get a better read on people’s brains

Ceribell, which just raised $207 million in its IPO, is making waves with its portable EEG headset. CEO Jane Chao hopes it becomes the new standard of acute care.

Nonconvulsive seizures can kill patients in the ICU. In one study, one-third of such patients died. Yet getting a patient diagnosed with a seizure in the ER or ICU is not easy. It requires an electroencephalogram (EEG), which measures electrical activity in the brain. Getting an EEG can take anywhere between a few hours to a couple of days, since there is a shortage of EEG technicians. Post-pandemic, one study reported that EEGs have declined by 50%.