MindBEAGLE — A new system for the assessment and communication with patients with disorders of consciousness and complete locked-in syndrom

2017

Patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC) cannot reply to questions or clinical assessments using voluntary motor control, and therefore it is very difficult to assess their cognitive capabilities and conscious awareness. Patients who are locked-in (LIS) are instead fully conscious, and they can communicate with their preserved eye movements. However, when the residual oculomotor activity is also lost (e.g., patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis disease of very long duration), the locked-in status becomes complete (CLIS). In CLIS patients, detection of conscious awareness may become very challenging, similarly to the subjects with DOC. mindBEAGLE has a physiological testing batte…