Cushion maker’s life-saving breakthrough for epilepsy sufferers

A CUSHION manufacturer has invented a potentially life-saving pillow for people with epilepsy or who at risk of suffering seizures.

Paul Boomer, who owns Failsworth, Greater Manchester-based Carousel Foam, was set a challenge by mother Fiona Kerr, from Hyde, whose 12-year-old son, Lewis, suffers seizures in his sleep.

When Lewis goes to bed there is a very real danger he could fall victim to Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP).
 
So Fiona obtained an anti-suffocation pillow from the charity HOPE, based in her home town of Hyde, in Greater Manchester.

However, Lewis was unhappy with the pillow and rarely used it so Fiona asked Boomer if he was able to improve on the design as there were no other anti-suffocation pillows available.

An anti-suffocation pillow maximises airflow should someone suffering from epilepsy or any other condition have an ‘episode’ and end up face down in their pillow/mattress and be unable to move sufficiently enough to breathe regularly.

Mr Boomer spent the next 12 months developing a product, resulting in the Breathe-zy pillow which promotes maximum airflow to minimise, as best as possible, any risk should this happen.

For the outer case, a new innovative three-dimensional fabric was used. The product was developed at Manchester University and consists of two pieces of soft mesh fabric joined 10mm apart with strands of polyester fibre creating a ‘wall of air’ that won’t crush when depressed.
 
This is filled with two polyester fibre pads each encased in an open weave mesh fabric. Ordinary pillows are filled with blown polyester fibre which will crush under pressure and the fibre will ‘mat’ after a couple of months, restricting airflow but these pads are basically a block of fibre, creating another wall of air.

The innovative design has been registered as a CLASS 1 Medical Device with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency – an executive agency of the Department of Health responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are acceptably safe.

But as it is a medical product, Boomer wanted further tests done which were more relevant to the pillow itself.

So he engaged Shirley Technologies, a test house in Trafford Park, Manchester, to carry out an airflow test . This was done with three pillows, the Breathe-zy, a competitors pillow and an off-the-shelf pillow which would act as a control.
 
The results showed the Breathe-zy pillow is 10 times more breathable than a regular pillow and up to seven times more than Carousel’s nearest competitors’ pillow, depending on which part of their pillow was tested!

Boomer said: “The pillow could reduce the anxiety of parents with children who are prone seizures and could be potentially life-saving. People will know they have done as much as they can to reduce the risk of SUDEP.”

Mum Fiona said: “I purchased a Breathe-zy pillow last year. It has helped so much. My son Lewis hated his last pillow as it was so uncomfortable, it had some ridges which made it really difficult to actually sleep.

“Now my son loves his comfy and, more importantly, breathable pillow.

“As a carer, it means I can sleep sounder, too, knowing my son is as safe as he can be while sleeping. I’m very grateful to the Breathe-zy pillow.”

There are 600,000 epilepsy sufferers in the UK, three million in the United States and 65 million worldwide, which is about 1% of the population.

There are also 200,000 new cases diagnosed in the US every year.

Although quite rare, SUDEP figures suggest the mortality rate of epileptics from SUDEP is between 15 and 20%.