Celebrating Coma Day: 5 Explorations of Covert Awareness

2: Far from Hopeless Vegetables

Kate Bainbridge was wracked with thirst. I refused to allow my overly rough caregivers to clean my sensitive parts (n my coma-dream). But through an fMRI machine, Scott Routley was able to tell Dr. Owen that he wasn’t in pain.

If Scott had been in pain his doctors could’ve done something to alleviate it.

Dr. Owen and his Owen Lab team of researchers are now developing portable EEG awareness detection techniques that have the potential to one day bring covert cognition detection to every hospital and care facility. Beyond simply uncovering the one-in-five consciousness disorder patients with covert awareness, their EEJeep project may one day allow patients to participate in their own care.

Read more: “Hello, I’m in Here,” Giving Voice to the Voiceless