Over the years many musicians have taken inspiration from science and technology but fewer scientists have taken inspiration from music. Recently some researchers at Stanford University, California were working on a creative music project where they adapted brain waves going through seizures into freeform electronic music with “human voice-like tones”.

Upon hearing the resulting ‘music’ the researchers were struck by the practical implications of what they had created; they had discovered a way to easily and clearly tell whether the brain was going through a seizure or not. Their discovery may prove to be invaluable for people who care for patients with epilepsy, as often it is hard for the carer to easily and quickly identify that a seizure is taking place.

A prototype ‘brain stethoscope’ is currently in production, though a roll-out is still a long way off. Below you can hear an example of the ‘music’ created by the brain impulses during seizure. While that certainly isn’t a nice thought, the resulting sounds are incredibly organic and intriguing.

As for whether it’s ‘music’ or not, we reckon you could get away with a cassette only release.