Guided phone filming of seizures, sorted for the epilepsy doctor's next visit
TL;DR Episodely coaches families to film a seizure-like episode properly on a phone, then files the clip with time, duration and what happened before and after. The patient's neurologist reviews a sorted timeline instead of a blurry forwarded video. Clinics subscribe per patient. It works if better video settles uncertain cases faster.
India has millions of people with epilepsy. A 1999 pooled estimate put prevalence at 5.33 per 1,000, or about 5.5 million people, with a rural treatment gap above 70%[1]. A 2021 meta-analysis of 22 studies found 4.7 per 1,000[2].
Doctors rarely see the event itself. They rely on a shaken relative's account, and not every episode is epileptic.
Getting it wrong is expensive for families. An Indian multicentre study put the yearly cost of epilepsy at ₹13,755 per patient, most of it lost income[3]. Video-EEG units that settle hard cases are few and mostly in large cities.
What it does, in regulatory terms - it records and organises video for the treating doctor. It does not detect, classify or diagnose seizures. Software that did those things would likely be a medical device under the Medical Devices Rules 2017[7], so Episodely leaves all judgement to the neurologist.
When an episode starts, a family member opens the app with one tap. On-screen prompts guide them - film the whole body, then the face, keep the light on, say the time aloud and ask a question once it ends. Software checks framing and light as they film and stamps the duration. Afterwards the family answers four short questions. The clinic sees each patient's episodes in a timeline, beside doses and missed pills.
The seed proposed AI home tests to speed up neurological diagnosis. I narrowed it. App-based diagnosis isn't validated, but a good video in a specialist's hands is. In one study, specialists' accuracy for epileptic seizures reached 98.2% when convulsive features were visible, and poor video quality left 24.2% of clips impossible to judge[5].
Families are the users, but neurology and epilepsy clinics are the buyers, and they can add the cost to follow-up fees. I found no Indian price for this kind of service. My assumption is ₹300–800 per patient a month, billed to the clinic. Video-EEG centres are a second buyer, because home clips help them decide who needs an admission.
Nearly every family now has a camera phone, and families already send seizure videos to doctors over chat apps without context or security. The DPDP Rules, notified in November 2025, now make that informal sharing a compliance risk for clinics[9]. Many patients are children, so verifiable parental consent applies[9].
Nobody publishes a figure for epilepsy software spending in India. The narrow base is the patient pool, several million people[1][2]. Reviewers continue to describe a large treatment gap that calls for a public health response[4]. The commercial bet is the smaller group of patients under regular specialist follow-up.
A US nonprofit offers a free diary whose app can record and time seizures[6]. A device maker's epilepsy app gives free guidance and a community but does not mention video capture[8]. In India, families send clips over chat apps, and I found no dedicated service. The gap is guided capture plus a clinic-side timeline built for Indian neurology practices.
| Difficulty | Moderate (35/100) |
| Starting capital | ₹40–80 L |
| Time to launch | 6–9 months |
The app is simple. What's hard is a one-tap flow that a panicking relative will use correctly, and a clinic view that a neurologist will actually open in a crowded outpatient session. Storing videos of children and adults in distress also demands strong security.
No device licence, as long as the software only records and files. Detection or classification would change that.
Building this outside India? The categories above usually have a local equivalent, so check with your own regulator.
AI must not label anything as a seizure or rule one out. That's a diagnosis, it would make the app a medical device, and families could stop seeking care because of it.
Want to work out the AI layer for Episodely? Talk to Yash →
Here's what can go south -
I like this as a modest, useful product for a founder close to neurology practice. It is not an AI diagnostic company and shouldn't be pitched as one.
First show, with three clinics, that guided clips are judged usable far more often than chat-app videos and that doctors change at least some decisions because of them.
Plan for roughly ₹40–80 L, mostly product work, secure storage and selling to clinics.
Not a device licence if it only records and files clips. You do need verifiable parental consent for children under the DPDP Act, and any doctor's advice must follow the telemedicine guidelines.
Yes. Free seizure diary apps already exist in the US. Check your country's medical device software and child data rules first.
The free Episodely validation kit has the line-by-line capital breakdown, the effort scoring, the consent and data-protection checklist, a 14-day validation sprint with pass/fail targets, a 90-day launch plan, 10 interview questions for neurologists and families, and 5 assumptions to test. Download the kit →
Thinking about building Episodely or something close to it? The make-or-break work is getting busy neurologists to open the timeline at every visit, and I'm glad to help you work out how. If you need a hand, you know where to find me. Talk to Yash →
For illustration only. Names are fictional and ideas hypothetical; sourced facts are real but may be out of date. Nothing here is legal, financial or professional advice, and Yash Khatri is not personally liable for any use of it. Read the full disclaimer.