HWS News
18 August 2025 • Research Startup-Inspired Device Targets Nighttime Seizures
At the intersection of business and biomedical innovation, one undergraduate’s prototype could change epilepsy care.
People with epilepsy can wake from nocturnal seizures bruised, disoriented, breathless and exhausted. They may bite their tongue, or wake injured, fearful and confused — if they wake at all. Though sudden unexpected death in epilepsy is rare, it is the leading cause of epilepsy-related fatalities, adding to the anxiety that already keeps patients and their caregivers up at night. David Gow ’26 knows this fear well through a family member’s diagnosis.
With a desire to solve that problem, Gow decided to apply to a Cornell University Hardware Prototyping Accelerator and was accepted as one of 23 teams in the program and received a $2000 stipend in development funds. His startup, EnSoar, was one of five teams in the MedTech track of the accelerator.
He proceeded to spend his summer working at Rev Ithaca Startup Works, a Cornell University innovation hub that hosts this and several other startup accelerators throughout the year. The intent is to help undergraduate, graduate and adult entrepreneurs transform early-stage ideas into real, functional prototypes. The program offers technical resources, expert mentorship and the bustling maker space to build something meaningful from scratch. For Gow, that “something” is an epileptic seizure-response device.
In the Cornell accelerator, Gow set out to design and prototype a device that allows people with epilepsy greater independence without relying on the constant presence of a caregiver. “I’m building a remotely activated seizure response device, which, based on heart rate, can determine whether someone is experiencing a seizure,” Gow explains. “When confirmed, the device can deliver a precise dose of medication, reducing the (seizure’s) effects within seconds instead of minutes.”
Gow learned that 20 percent of the epileptic population has this same issue. In those moments, respiratory or cardiac failure can occur within minutes, especially when no one is present to help. This is the gap Gow’s project is designed to fill by detecting seizures and administering medication automatically.
As he refined his prototype over the summer, HWS’s Business Management and Entrepreneurship Professor of Practice Ed Bizari, who encouraged Gow to apply to the program, served as a business mentor in the accelerator. Bizari, one of the Cornell University Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, was one of several resources available to Gow and other teams during the prototyping process. Additionally, the program offered weekly professional speakers, business and technology content sessions, industry field visits, and mentor feedback sessions.
Through the experience, Gow says he gained hands-on skills in electronic circuitry, software coding and building systems that use simple electronics to complete complex tasks. While many of his program peers come from engineering or computer science backgrounds, Gow felt he brought a unique advantage to the table.
As a Business Management and Entrepreneurship major, he draws on a strong foundation in problem solving through customer discovery, customer segmentation, and business models development. “[It makes me] extra appreciative of the quality of professors and curriculum at HWS,” he says.
The program culminated on July 31st at Hardware Accelerator Demo Day; a networking event where each team pitched and demonstrated their product to community members, potential investors, and partners.
As for what comes next, Gow is still figuring that out. “I am not quite sure yet which direction I would like to take my career,” he admits. “I would really like to build a business and see this idea be impactful for people with epilepsy who share this issue, and hopefully save some lives along the way.”
