The field of neurotechnology is characterized by rapid, constant evolution, with applications ranging from wearable devices to medical implants. In the context of epilepsy management, these technologies have become widely utilized tools.
However, the hardware itself remains a significant obstacle to maximizing the potential of these clinical tools. The reason? Traditional long-term EEG monitoring is often hindered by cumbersome external recording devices. As well as this, scalp-mounted electrodes and conspicuous wiring can also be an issue. These traditional setups not only interfere with a patient's daily routines and sleep but also impose a sense of social stigma alongside physical discomfort.
Anna Belhassen, an award-winning product designer and biomedical engineer, has begun addressing these difficulties: "Rather than utilizing cumbersome equipment for EEG tracking, data could be captured on a smartphone via an NFC chip," she explains. "For my specific design aimed at individuals with epilepsy, a simple tap would be all that is required to move the data to their device".
Belhassen created a prototype wireless, injectable sub-scalp neuromonitoring implant designed to make continuous brain monitoring discreet, comfortable, and seamlessly integrated into patients’ lives.
She says: “We removed that kind of bulky, uncomfortable hardware, replacing it with something that's already with you all the time, which is your phone.”
Belhassen carried out the work on her specifically designed prototype as part of her Master’s thesis while attending the Next Generation Neural Interfaces Lab at Imperial College London.
The institution, recognized worldwide for its excellence in applied research and high-level engineering, provided the backdrop for her academic pursuits.
Belhassen says she worked hard to emphasize the need to be human-centric, with the project saying: “I would say my biggest skill is sensitivity to the user. I think it's very easy, when you're working on big projects, to focus on the engineering and then forget to see the bigger picture. When I worked on the implant, and I still do this today with everything I do, I stepped back and asked, ‘Okay, so what am I intending to do for the user when they receive the product in hand?’”
Born to French parents in London, United Kingdom, Belhassen had a natural affinity for neurotechnology. Both her grandparents were diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, leaving them unable to move in old age. She decided to help out in any way she could, which led her to a career in product design.
As she remembers: “When I was at university, I discovered product design. I looked at functional fixes and learned how truly user-centered solutions can be comfortable, intuitive, and a joy to use. That passion now drives everything I do in product design and engineering.”
These functional fixes were present in her sub-scalp implant, which used technology to transmit EEG monitoring signals directly to the doctor for processing. This kind of monitoring is critical with epilepsy, a chronic neurological disorder that affects approximately 50 million people worldwide. Epilepsy usually manifests through recurrent, unprovoked seizures, caused by abnormal bursts of electrical activity in the brain. Around 5 million new diagnoses happen each year.
Here’s the crux of the disease: there is no cure. However, proper management of epilepsy can lead to people living seizure-free — primarily through medication. There is drug-resistant epilepsy, occurring when seizures persist despite at least two appropriately chosen medications.
For roughly one-third of patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, what’s needed is long-term EEG data. This way, research becomes critical for understanding seizure patterns, optimizing treatment, and improving outcomes.
But the methods are far from foolproof. Patients use conventional ambulatory systems and frequently report skin irritation, sleep disruption, and device visibility. These major pain points tend to lead to poor compliance and, as a result, incomplete data. This becomes critical to how epilepsy is managed, due to the fact that there can be delays in accurate diagnoses. Optimized treatment plans, then, are harder to come by.
She says: “People will come with a problem, like, ‘You know, I have seizures,’ and I need to be able to serve them in a comfortable way. I start from the root. I'm like, ‘Okay, what is the product going to need in certain different aspects?’ And I can take a project from a product or an idea to final production. That's what they need me for.”
Her own take on the sub-scalp implant represents a promising middle ground between fully invasive implants and cumbersome wearables, but until now, few of the existing solutions have prioritized the full user experience alongside clinical performance.
For proper epilepsy management, patients can require continuous monitoring over long periods of time. While existing solutions can provide signal accuracy, they often overlook the physical and emotional burden of wearing visible, uncomfortable devices. Her unique methodology solves that.
Not only is Belhassen’s prototype more comfortable, but it’s also a faster way to get accurate readings. No one has ever completed this kind of technology before. NFC technology is used to transfer seizure data directly to a patient’s phone with a simple tap, and the data then goes to the doctor for analysis. Cables, charging docks, and conspicuous headsets are not involved, making the experience more streamlined.
The design draws on her deep expertise and unique skills in product engineering, balancing clinical-grade signal quality with biocompatible materials, simplified implantation procedures, and intuitive user interaction.
Belhassen says: “It completely removes the cumbersome hardware, replacing it with something users already carry daily—transforming neural monitoring into an intuitive, non-intrusive experience.”
Overall, the design wasn’t just about capturing data better. The design Belhassen went with prioritized a product people would actually want to live with, alongside an entire workflow for implantation and data transfer that feels natural to the user.
Her engineering process is relentlessly people-first. While Belhassen calls it overthinking, others would perceive it as diligence and preparedness. Finite element analysis, material characterization, and iterative human-factors testing informed every decision. The shift from visible, cumbersome hardware to a discreet, phone-integrated solution reduces not only physical burden but also the psychological weight of living with a constant reminder of one’s condition.
While still a research prototype—with the end product not yet commercialized or implanted in human patients—Belhassen’s design has already influenced thinking within the Next Generation Neural Interfaces Lab and earned recognition in the field globally, particularly in the United States. It demonstrates how thoughtful product engineering can accelerate the translation of lab concepts into practical medical tools.
She points out the necessity of being user-first: “I know the hard work ends up in someone’s hands every day, and they’ll feel heard. Whether it’s an epilepsy patient tapping their head to log a seizure without bulky hardware or an athlete benefiting from fairer competition. My personal message is simple: when you receive my product, you’ll know I listened to your feedback. I turned that criticism into a tangible improvement you can see and feel.”
While studying at Imperial College, Belhassen also demonstrated significant initiative by establishing the university's Neurotech Society. As the first student-governed neurotechnology organization in the United Kingdom, the organization has grown into a vast network of hundreds of academics, professionals, and students. The society remains active today, expanding its influence through various events held across the United States.
Beyond the prototype for epilepsy management, Belhassen has also worked on other projects. She says: “I’ve worked across wildly different fields—finance and private equity, beauty packaging, consumer electronics at Apple, neurotechnology, and even furniture and lighting design.”
She adds: “That breadth gives me a unique perspective: I constantly borrow insights from one industry to solve problems in another. Whether it’s user-centered ergonomics from medical devices or premium material finishes from beauty, I bring cross-pollinated thinking to every project.”
Her unique approach is to be multidisciplinary and user-centric. She chats with the people first before designing anything and says: “I always begin by asking, ‘What problems have we had in the past, and how can we improve?’ That’s my favorite part.”
Another peer, Bernardo Aceituno, Co-Founder and President of StackAI, has noted this about Belhassen, saying: “One quality I particularly admire in Anna is her intellectual curiosity. She appears genuinely motivated to solve difficult problems rather than simply pursue conventional paths. I also admire her initiative and willingness to work across disciplines, which is not common among engineers at an early stage of their careers.
“These attributes appear to translate into a very strong work ethic and a tendency to pursue challenging, multidisciplinary problems. I have always been struck by her willingness to engage deeply with unfamiliar technical domains and bridge concepts from engineering, medicine, and product design.”
Despite initial challenges that make the projects she takes on feel impossible, she perseveres with hard work and persistence, finding ways to incorporate small details that elevate an entire product from good to exceptional.
For instance, she developed a piezoresistive sensor mat for wheelchair fencing at the Paralympics. Piezoresistive technology refers to a material’s ability to change its electrical resistance when mechanical pressure, force, or strain is applied. By using this technology in a sensor mat, the mat can detect and measure movement, force, or position during a match.
This helps with proper judging because there have been instances of unfair fouls involving subjective visual observation, such as athletes lifting too far off their seats. With the technology she uses, the sensor mat finally detects when 50% of the user’s weight lifts off, turning a subjective call into an objective metric. In just one month, Belhassen and her team iterated five or six times to make the mat sweat-resistant and highly sensitive. It was finally deployed at the 2022 Wheelchair Fencing World Championships and was tested with Olympians.
She remembers: “The athletes and the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) were thrilled—the solution directly addressed a long-standing frustration in the sport.”
In many ways, Belhassen’s work signals a broader shift in how neurotechnology is first imagined and then built. It has to be said that the future of medical innovation may no longer rest solely on making devices smaller, faster, or more advanced.
Now it is about making them genuinely livable. The prototype Belhassen created demonstrates that engineering for healthcare must include several prerequisites. These include precision and performance, and also, for the user, empathy.
Belhassen says: “You have to reduce friction, preserve their dignity, and design technology that quietly integrates into their everyday life rather than disrupt it.”
Her projects have given her a reputation amongst her peers. For example, after her internship at Apple, she was remembered well by Ethan Ohayon, an Apple product design engineer: “One thing I noticed was Anna’s willingness to engage deeply with complex technical problems while also remaining highly collaborative. Even in fast-moving environments with multiple teams involved, she maintained a solutions-oriented mindset and worked effectively across functions rather than focusing narrowly on her own area.
“You can see this from her past projects, such as her piezoresistive sensor mat. It is a super-sleek design for a demanding product environment; it is uncommon to see someone consistently balance engineering rigor with usability and the overall product experience. She approached problems with a level of maturity and multidisciplinary thinking that stood out even among highly capable teams.”
Today, Belhassen continues to contribute to the industry as a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA). She’s judged hackathons, has been featured in various articles and journals, and serves on editorial boards.
To this extent, Belhassen is known by her peers, and she says: “I want to be remembered as someone who was very empathetic, and, I would say, inspiring, and someone who was very ambitious and drove a team to succeed.”
Overall, Belhassen has merged rigorous engineering with human-centered design, which can transform the future of healthcare technology in the United States and globally. As neural interfaces move closer to mainstream adoption, she is one of the few innovators driving impactful breakthroughs that blend technical ambition with a focus on the user.
Epilepsy research continues to evolve. Neurological monitoring remains in demand, and many developments are, no doubt, still in their infancy. However, projects like Belhassen’s offer an alternative future in which patients enjoy both effective care and personal comfort — without having to sacrifice either. Long-term monitoring that isn’t uncomfortable is more than possible.
About The Author
Mahadharani Vijay is a writer specializing in digital marketing, electric and concept cars, gadgets, and media and entertainment. She focuses on turning emerging trends and innovations into clear, engaging, and accessible stories for both professionals and wider audiences.
