Man in Vegetative State Uses MRI to Communicate
A man previously thought to be in a vegetative state has successfully communicated with doctors using an MRI machine.
Doctors in Belgium have discovered brain activity in a car crash victim previously thought to be in a vegetative state. In a study in Cambridge, UK, and Liege, Belgium, doctors tested 54 patients with disorders of consciousness. The group was comprised of 23 people in a vegetative state and 31 in a minimally conscious state. Of the group, five showed some brain activity and additional bedside testing showed some sign of awareness.
However, one of the patients managed to answer a series of yes or no questions using the MRI machine. Asked a series of six questions (such as, "Is your father's name Thomas?"), the patient was asked to think of one type of imagery for 'yes' and another for 'no.' brain activity on the MRI matched that of a control patient.
Read more on the New England Journal of Medicine.
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The headline is misleading...
The man does not use the MRI machine... his doctor's use the machine. The man simply responds to yes or no questions from the doctors.
wow...sounds like something right out of house.
(Actually, i think they did do an episode like this once)
This actually scares me a bit. I'd be horrified if my body couldn't do anything but my mind was still concious.
Answering yes or no is not communicating.
Answering yes or no is not communicating.
Really? What is it then?
This is impressive... If this works the way it is supposed to... Then this opens up a whole new ballgame for the rehabilitation of vegetative humans. However... I worry that this might also bring up the dangerous question about our previous treatment of unresponsive humans.
The headline is misleading...The man does not use the MRI machine... his doctor's use the machine. The man simply responds to yes or no questions from the doctors.
"Man in Vegetative State" didn't give it away that he wasn't the one using the machine???
"Man in Vegetative State" didn't give it away that he wasn't the one using the machine???
hehe I do many things in a vegetative state, it's practically my default
Thats one expensive communication tool......
Oddly enough, i was talking to my sister about this last week, saying how weird it would be if it was possible...
Another example of truth stranger than fiction.
Well Its a good thing. Think about it like this if all people who go into coma's are put through this process on a regular basis it would help to figure out if that person is really aware or completely comatose. It would suck to be sitting in that bed for years while being aware of whats going on even if its just slightly aware it would still be hell. So if something like this becomes common practice it greatly help people who are stuck in there bodies unable to do anything other than think.
"Mr. Gobbenhouser, you are in a vegetative state and the best you can hope for the foreseeable future is answer yes or no with this machine. Would you like me to put you out of your misery?"
I'm being cynical, but it might be a great step in medical history.
I know it's nitpicking, but MRI doesn't show brain activity. fMRI does.
What I think is more intresting.
The MRI of the patient... that is a lot of "space" in that MRI compared to the control.....
Interesting...
Though it does have me wondering about the effects of repeated/long term exposure to MRI radiation. Though one may suppose the 'volunteers' won't be complaining.
If patient is able to answer questions, it means brain is working- for one thing, he might want to listen to radio, and second thing, he could probably control stuff if sensors were implanted into his brain.
Answering yes or no is not communicating.
Every RPG in history begs to differ.
The headline is misleading...The man does not use the MRI machine... his doctor's use the machine. The man simply responds to yes or no questions from the doctors.
Hes communicating through it, that means hes using it.
There might be a lot of space in the "patient's" brain, compared to the "control" brain, but they have recently discovered that brain cells Do regenerate, so there is hope for this patient, as well as all people with brain injuries!
Interesting...Though it does have me wondering about the effects of repeated/long term exposure to MRI radiation.
MRI machines do not produce radiation like an X-ray, they use high-powered electromagnets. There is no radio wave sent through the patient, so the only danger is if the patient has metallic objects in their body like a pacemaker or shrapnel that could be pulled towards the magnet.
Yes, this would definitely scare the hell out of me. I could only hope they would ask, "Michael, do you wan't us to kill you so you don't have to live like this?"...
Time to crank some Metallica.
Seriously... they should have asked him "Do you want us to end your suffering?".
So... some people in comas really are aware of what is going on. SCARY STUFF!!!I think I had better leave a "living will" to insist that if I'm ever in a "vegetative state" then they had better put some decent TV / music in my room.
How about using binaural beats for mental stimulation? Wonder if they ever tried that.
Seriously... they should have asked him "Do you want us to end your suffering?".
Totally agree.
That's a lot of money to spend to run the MRI just to get a "yes" or "no" answer.
Time to crank some Metallica.
yeah lets just play ONE song.
Every RPG in history begs to differ.
Especially anything involving Zelda.
This is impressive... If this works the way it is supposed to... Then this opens up a whole new ballgame for the rehabilitation of vegetative humans. However... I worry that this might also bring up the dangerous question about our previous treatment of unresponsive humans.
For now, there is no rehab of vegetative humans. Sure you could "communicate" with MRI, but you couldn't go any further toward rehab. The only thing you could learn is the patient has a locked-in syndrome without organised eye movement, making it even worse.
I agree, they should have asked the patients if they wanted to withdraw from the mecanical ventilation. Sad thing.
"mechanical" Where is the edit button!!!