Brussels, February 07: Doctors have managed to read the thoughts of a car accident victim diagnosed to be in a vegetative condition, using brain scanning techniques that could mark a breakthrough for thousands of patients.
A 22-year-old man who had been considered to be in a vegetative state since an accident five years ago managed to answer “yes” and “no” to a team of doctors using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to scan his brain.
Patients in a vegetative state are awake, not in a coma, but have no awareness due to severe brain damage.
The research team from Britain and Belgium, whose findings were first published in the online version of the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday, believe the technique could help doctors avoid making false diagnoses.
By helping doctors accurately ascertain whether a patient is mentally responsive, the technique “will change patient care, improve our diagnostics and avoid useless treatment”, Belgian neuropsychologist Audrey Vanhaudenhuyse told AFP.
Not responsive
The car accident victim had not responded to any external stimuli, leading others to conclude he was in a vegetative state. When the British-Belgian team examined him, they found small signs of consciousness.
“But we couldn’t communicate with him,” Vanhaudenhuyse said.
The team had already examined a number of healthy people using fMRI, viewing which parts of their brains reacted when asked to respond to simple “yes” or “no” questions by imagining playing tennis or walking around a room.
They then placed the patient into an MRI. “We asked him the same things, to imagine he was playing tennis to respond to questions. And he succeeded,” said Vanhaudenhuyse.
“That confirms he is not in a vegetative state.”
The researchers’ success has not revolutionised the life of the young man, although he has now returned home and receives better adapted care, including therapy that might help improve his capacity to communicate.
—Agencies