2014 Tech Gadget Predictions
Visitors try out a Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Gear smartwatch at its exhibition hall at a railway station in Seoul November 25, 2013. Samsung Electronics Co is expected to spend around $14 billion - more than Iceland's GDP - on advertising and marketing this year, but it doesn't always get value for money. The outlay buys the South Korean technology giant publicity in TV and cinema ads, on billboards, and at sports and arts events from the Sydney Opera House to New York's Radio City Music Hall. Google Inc spent less on buying Motorola's handset business. Picture taken on November 25, 2013. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji REUTERS

The Embrace is the newest smartwatch that can analyse stress levels, can track activities and most of importantly, it can predict seizures. It is a new, Indiegogo supported project, which is a product of years of experimentations arriving into one useful and beautifully crafted device.

The wearable device that can monitor epileptic seizures is a product of Empatica, a spin-off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technologies (MIT). The Empatica team is lead by MIT professor Dr. Rosalind W. Picard who began working on a device that measures emotions including stress back in 2007. The first iteration in 2008 was called iCalm and was intended to measure stress levels. The device enabled researchers to monitor the onset of stress before it was even noticed by the subject, Forbes reports.

Embrace tracks the wearer's electrodermal activity (EDA) by absorbing small amounts of moisture that comes out of the skin. The device can measure the user's flight or fight response to different situations and thereby, it analyses the wearer's stress level. The EDA measurement can also predict the possible hit of a seizure and helps parents, caregivers and medical practitioners prepare for seizures and even prevent the attack as well.

The new product can be paired with a companion watch that a family member or a caregiver can wear. Embrace features two apps: an event detector that sends alerts when the patient's electrodermal response reaches a warning level based on their health profile and a diary app, which can track and manage daily activities.

Amazingly, Embrace can also measure brain wave suppression, which normally happens during seizures when brain waves tend to flatten to dangerous levels. In addition, the new smartwatch can also monitor temperature changes and is equipped with gyroscope and accelerometers, which has the ability to track the wearer's activities.

Finally, Embrace is an impressive medical device that could help patients with seizures and their families. Empatica has partnered with Indiegogo and is currently offering a special campaign that costs US$189. According to the crowdfunding site, each extra sale above its goal before Dec. 24 will be generously donated to a specially chosen child who is diagnosed with epilepsy that is incapable of acquiring the device.