7 seizure triggers per hour from Spanish TV

Jaime Parra, MD, PhD, with poster describing the Spanish television study

Spanish TV viewers are exposed to potentially seizure-inducing visual sequences about seven times per hour, according to a study released this month at the 10^th European Congress on Epileptology in London. The study was led by Jaime Parra, MD, PhD, an epilepsy specialist at Madrid’s Hospital La Zarzuela and Sanatorio Nuestra Señora del Rosario.

Dr. Parra and his team recorded 105 hours of broadcasts across seven channels, capturing four consecutive hours of morning programs on five consecutive days in January. A total of 738 instances were identified where viewers were exposed to visuals that did not meet the safety guidelines for visually induced seizures. The Harding Flash and Pattern Analyzer assessed flash rate, luminance (brightness), intensity of red images, and spatial patterns.

Of the 738 safety violations, 714 incidents involved bright flash. The study’s authors concluded that “Spanish broadcasters seem to be unaware of the risk of photosensitive epilepsy. National guidelines should be adopted to lower the risk of Spanish TV content triggering epileptic seizures in susceptible individuals.” The safest channel was dedicated to children’s programming. The investigators plan to bring their results to the attention of Spanish media and government officials as well as the Spanish public.

Results from the next stage of this project, which will involve analyzing the intensity of the visual stimuli that were recorded, will be presented at an upcoming meeting of the Spanish Neurological Society. The team also plans to assess television broadcasts in other European countries.

To read the poster summarizing the initial findings, click here.

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