Following a collaboration between various medical experts and people with epilepsy, along with the NHS and epilepsy charity SUDEP Action, a new smartphone app has been launched to help people monitor their condition.

Entitled “Epilepsy Self Monitor” – also referred to as EpSMon – the app automatically monitors an individual’s wellbeing during their day-to-day life, which is expected to help provide additional support for them between visits to their GP and other medical experts.

EpSMon was developed collaboratively by epilepsy patients, clinicians, and health technology information experts, alongside Plymouth University, Cornwall Partnership NHS Trust, Royal Cornwall Hospital NHS Trust and SUDEP Action.

It assesses an individual’s information against certain factors that could affect them, including seizures and mental health.

Once every three months, users of the app will also be asked to answer questions that would typically be asked by a GP during private consultations.

Questions that focus on seizures, general health and fitness levels, as well as medical history – including the most recently attended doctor’s appointment – are all covered by the app.

The answers it collects are then processed so as to give suitable advice, with one example being “Book an epilepsy review with your GP”.

The aim of the app is to encourage more people to see their GP for regular reviews regarding their epilepsy management, and it is hoped that this will eventually help to increase overall health and wellbeing among app users.

EpSMon is currently only available for iPhone, but it is expected that it will be made available on android platforms later this year.

The app is available to download via the iTunes store.