Epileptic develops software to link seizures, possible triggers: NeoMed's EpiTrax develops database for medical histories.

ERIC Schumacher had to become much more aware about how he conducted his day after being diagnosed with epilepsy at age 19.

For the last 20 years, Schumacher has kept detailed paper records about how long he slept the previous night, what and when he ate or took his medication, and when and how he participated in any activity that could trigger a seizure.

So with an estimated 2.7 million Americans affiliated with the chronic neurological condition, the Los Angeles software marketing professional figured there was an untapped market for an electronic alternative to the journals and scraps of paper that patients must fumble through to help doctors monitor their treatment.

Soon after leaving a corporate job to form his own marketing agency two years ago, Schumacher also formed NeoMed Software LLC with a former colleague to create just such a seizure tracking software package. EpiTrax hit the market last week.

To the user, EpiTrax looks and acts like a standard computerized scheduling program, albeit with dedicated icons for medication changes, sleep patterns and stress levels. But behind the interface, a sophisticated database is gathering data to produce charts and graphs that can help a doctor detect patterns for potential seizure triggers.

NeoMed operates as a virtual company with Schumacher's chief technology officer and partner, Wolfgang Huber, based in Munich. The company's viral-oriented marketing strategy includes Internet search advertising and networking with patient advocacy groups, such as the Epilepsy Foundation.

Not every epileptic is a likely EpiTrax customer, Schumacher admits, noting that the $39.95 software is most likely to appeal to computer-literate patients who have trouble controlling seizures via medication alone and thus has greater incentive to closely track their activities.

Schumacher estimates a potential market for EpiTrax of at least 450,000 patients in the U.S. and Canada, but foresees several follow-on products that would enable NeoMed to grow into a larger health care software company.

"There are several episodic diseases, like migraines, Celiac disease and Crohn's disease, where people have to track what they do in order to find correlations," said Schumacher, who is chief executive of the company. "Once we have EpiTrax established, we will look at what we can do there."