AA #12

Brain Imaging Lets Vegetative Patient Communicate

In the New England Journal of Medicine, a study has found that people once thought to be lost in a vegetative state are now being re-diagnosed. The problem in determining awareness to those who lack controllable motor skills has for years left even doctors to believe most of these patient are in fact vegetative. However, according to this breakthrough study, Five out of Fifty Four patients thought to be vegetative were found to have the ability to answer simple yes or no questions thanks to Instant-MIR technology. This technology scans the brain looking for certain areas to light up that correspond to those of a healthy person if asked the same question. Instant MRI technology is time consuming and requires zero movement; the hope is that future research will quickly yield methods of testing using Electroencephalography (EEG) devices, which are both portable, and relatively inexpensive.




E. Singer. "Brain Imaging Lets Vegetative Patient Communicate." Technology Review, 2/4/2010. 2/18/2010
<http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/24475/page1/>.