A device that could reawaken those who are in vegetative state.

news.yahoo.com...;_ylt=AlPynUz.3JBjLxxNWft2BjMDW7oF

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A man with severe brain injuries who spent six years in a near-vegetative state can now chew his food, watch a movie and talk with family thanks to a brain pacemaker that may change the way such patients are treated, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

The 38-year-old man is the first person in a minimally conscious state to be treated with deep-brain stimulation, a treatment that uses a pacemaker and two electrodes to send impulses into a part of the brain regulating consciousness.

His awakening may change the way doctors think about people with severe brain injuries, who are largely unresponsive but still have some level of consciousness. These patients typically spend the rest of their lives in nursing homes, with little efforts at rehabilitation and slim chance of recovery.

Could this device have brought back Terri Schiavo? We will never know. But it could help bring those back currently vegetative state.

Great post deltaboy!

I have always wondered why with the advances in technology, why people in vegetative states could not be "regenerated". This one almost seems like a no-brainer (pardon the pun), but I wonder why it has taken so long to develop technologies such as this.

This treatment is a potential Phoenix machine for all people that were thought to be lost to the depths of their own consciousness. My assupmtion is that Terry Schiavo could have been brought back with this treatment. Too bad politics, fame and greed got in the way.

Regardless, this is a great find.

Originally posted by deltaboy


Could this device have brought back Terri Schiavo? We will never know. But it could help bring those back currently vegetative state.

Could it have brought her back? No. She was not minimally conscious, she was dead with her eyes open. Brain scans differentiate between essentially conscious death and minimal -consciousness-.

However, for those with brain injuries and perhaps comatose states with brain function at least somewhat intact this shows promise.

Yeah, I read about this at work in the USA Today. Fascinating stuff, really. Give it 5 years before the term vegetable becomes a thing of the past. **Besides food, of course. Yummy yummy!**

Could deep brain stimulation for baseline individuals elevate them to a HIGHER state of consciousness?

In a word - doubtful.

In two words - highly doubtful.

But as no studies have been performed I can't rightly say impossible, but still highly doubtful.

What this machine could do for a vegetative man, can do as well for a normal human healthy being. Think of pilots flying fast manovering choppers or planes, tank gunners, multitasking NASA astronauts, construction crews, teachers, etc...the possibilities are endless, and this is only just the beginning.