When it comes to people with brain injuries, the family often carries the burden of being responsible for turning the device off. The sick person has no will of his own and is no longer answerable for his actions. Although, a new study with scanners brain is being tested. The aim is to understand the patient and detect objective responses such as "yes" and "no".
Researcher Adrian Owen, author of the study, said: "Life would be much easier if you could ask the person." He is a researcher at the University of Western Ontario, Canada. The main objective is to give “voice” so that these people have the power to make decisions in their own lives.
How it will be done:
The experiment was initially carried out in a specific group: people who are between consciousness and coma or in a vegetative state. Initially, the sick were able to direct their thoughts as responses to instructions that were detected via brain scans. Questions for the purpose of returning between “yes” or “no” were asked. However, only a fifth of respondents were able to respond.
At the moment, Owen has been carrying out the same experiments on people undergoing intensive therapy in the first days after a severe brain injury. In this case, more than a quarter of the tested patients were able to respond.
The team has already tested 20 people, however, researcher Owen described the procedure as "challenging and dangerous". An MRI machine is used and the patient is taken to a separate room. In order to read patients' minds, infrared spectroscopy is used. In this way, only one headset is used and it is not necessary to move it from its bed.
Life expectancy for the patient
Thus, Owen believes that in addition to the evolution of science, the patient himself creates a new life expectancy with the treatment. Among all this, it is necessary to make the procedure accessible to everyone.
