People at risk of strokes are always on the lookout for signs, but one cannot be alert when they are sleeping. This means thousands of people suffer “wake-up strokes” that are only identified hours after they have occurred. Zeit Medical, a Redwood, CA-based company has developed a brain-monitoring smart headband that constantly monitors the electrical activity of your brain and gets help immediately. This could enable a stroke victim to get to the hospital fast enough to mitigate the stroke’s damage and potentially save lives.

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“Every minute a stroke goes untreated, two million brain cells are lost, resulting in even worsening disability. Immediate treatment can save brain cells from dying and help to restore brain function. Strokes can occur abruptly in any setting, but strokes are almost impossible to recognize during sleep, as most strokes do not cause pain,” the company says.

Zeit Medical’s device is designed to comfortably monitor the brain's electric activity while you sleep. If it detects a stroke, it will call pre-specified contacts or 911 for you. This will allow you to get treatment right away and finally sleep without anxiety about having a stroke at night.

Just like the presentation of arrhythmia on EKG, neurological injuries induce specific patterns in EEG. Zeit’s technology identifies these signature patterns immediately and enables fast diagnosis and treatment.

A few decades ago, not much could be done to help a stroke victim. In the 1990s, an effective drug came into use, and a little later, a surgical procedure was also introduced. However, both of these treatment required to be administered within a few hours after the onset of the stroke, reports TechCrunch. Orestis Vardoulis and Urs Naber decided to change that. The duo started Zeit, which means ‘time,’ to detect a stroke before it occurs.

“As soon as the stroke hits you, your brain begins to die, so time is of the essence. People have spent millions reducing the time between calling 911 and transportation, and from the hospital door to treatment. but nobody takes care of those hours that pass before the 911 call, so we realized that’s where we have to innovate,” Naber said.

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“We hope to see a future where everyone with a stroke risk is issued this device,” Vardoulis told TechCrunch. “We really do see this as the missing puzzle piece in the stroke care continuum.”