An Empirical Investigation of Reconstruction-Based Models for Seizure Prediction from ECG Signals

Abstract

Epileptic seizures are sudden neurological disorders characterized by abnormal, excessive neuronal activity in the brain, which is often associated with changes in cardiovascular activity. These disruptions can pose significant physical and psychological challenges for patients. Therefore, accurate seizure prediction can help mitigate these risks by enabling timely interventions, ultimately improving patients' quality of life. Traditionally, EEG signals have been the primary standard for seizure prediction due to their precision in capturing brain activity. However, their high cost, susceptibility to noise, and logistical constraints limit their practicality, restricting their use to clinical settings. In order to overcome these limitations, this study focuses on leveraging ECG signals as an alternative for seizure prediction. In this paper, we present a novel method for predicting seizures based on detecting anomalies in ECG signals during their reconstruction. By extracting time-frequency features and leveraging various advanced deep learning architectures, the proposed method identifies deviations in heart rate dynamics associated with seizure onset. The proposed approach was evaluated using the Siena database and could achieve specificity of 99.16\%, accuracy of 76.05\%, and false positive rate (FPR) of 0.01/h, with an average prediction time of 45 minutes before seizure onset. These results highlight the potential of ECG-based seizure prediction as a patient-friendly alternative to traditional EEG-based methods.