British teen receives world’s first epilepsy device implant

A British teenager with severe epilepsy has become the first child in the world to receive a brain implant to control his seizures. 

Doctors at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital fitted a neurostimulator under 13-year-old Oran Knowlson’s skull. It sends electrical signals deep into the brain, and has reduced his seizures by around 80 percent.

After years of having up to 300 seizures a day, his mum, Justine, said: “I feel like I’m getting my child back a little bit, bit by bit. It’s going to take time, but for the first time in ten years, we actually have hope.” 

Three more children will soon take part in the UK trial, which has been described as a ‘game changer’ by experts. 

Watch the full report in the video player above