Purple Day is a grassroots event to increase global awareness of epilepsy and dispel fears and myths. Epilepsy is a group of neurological disorders characterized by recurrent seizures. According to the World Health Organization, epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders in the world, affecting around 50 million people.
A Purdue University-connected startup called Neurava was founded to address issues with a fatal complication of epilepsy called SUDEP, or sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate there are 1.16 cases of SUDEP each year for every 1,000 people with epilepsy; most cases occur during a seizure or immediately after.
Purdue alumni Vivek Ganesh and Jay Shah founded Neurava. The company is developing a wearable device to monitor and alert for the impending risk of SUDEP. Read more about Neurava on its website.
To learn more about innovation at Purdue, visit the Purdue Innovates website.
