Brainwave – The Irish Epilepsy Association – Shedding a light on epilepsy

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin's Madison Trace Center have developed a free tool to help web development teams determine if the content of their site is likely to pose a threat to people with Photosensitive Epilepsy (PSE). The new tool called Photosensitive Epilepsy Analysis Test or PEAT is now being used by many large organizations in theUS including AOL.

Three to five percent of people with epilepsy are affected by PSE and can have convulsive type seizure on exposure to flicker, glare and certain patterns. Young people are ore susceptible to developing PSE and of course it is this group who are among the most active web users. PSE is diagnosed when a person has a specific response to the triggers o an EEG. Most people with epilepsy don't have PSE but if you are in doubt your EEG records will clarify this. PSE is known to be triggered by naturally occurring images as well as artificial phenomena. Light shimmering on water, light flickering through trees and railings as the person is moving past the image can trigger. TV content images have been known to be potentially epileptogenic (seizure provoking) but all broadcast media content can now be screened for by the Harding FPA computer analysis. Live events especially those with fireworks, flash photography and laser shows are problematic as they are broadcast unscreened.

Concerns had been raised recently about the content of websites and the potential to provoke seizures. Brainwave has been contacted by organizations developing sites who wish to ensure their site will not put a susceptible individual at risk. Until now it was difficult to assess the full impact of web content on people with PSE as people don't tend to watch the same content in large numbers as tend to happen with TV. However a trawl through sites shows they can contain images that raise concerns in terms of patterns, colours and flickering. The difficulty has been in ascertaining with the naked eye if they violate any PSE guidelines. Such screening is very technical and takes account of very specific factors in terms of luminence, flash patterns and colour saturation.

Brainwave welcomes this new screening tool which will enhance the web experience of people with PSE and reduce their risk of seizures. We would encourage web developers, businesses and organisations to ensure that their sites are compliant with the screening process. The next step must surely be to have the screening process adopted by existing and new sites. Given the range and proliferation of sites developed by professionals and amateurs alike this may be difficult to achieve. However until compliance becomes universal we would urge web users with PSE to remain vigilant regarding content that might provoke their seizures, to stick to using trusted sites and contact your favourite sites to make them aware of the PEAT tool and encourage them to become PEAT compliant.