Pupil responses allow communication in locked-in syndrome patients.
For patients with severe motor disabilities, a robust means of communication is a crucial factor for their well-being [1]. We report here that pupil size measured by a bedside camera can be used to communicate with patients with locked-in syndrome. With the same protocol we demonstrate command-following for a patient in a minimally conscious state, suggesting its potential as a diagnostic tool for patients whose state of consciousness is in question. Importantly, neither training nor individual adjustment of our system's decoding parameters were required for successful decoding of patients' responses.
Josef
J
Stoll
Camille
C
Chatelle
Olivia
O
Carter
Christof
C
Koch
Steven
S
Laureys
Wolfgang
W
Einhäuser
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003142:Communication; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018458:Persistent Vegetative State / Q000175:diagnosis*; D010781:Photography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011680:Pupil / Q000502:physiology*; D011782:Quadriplegia; D055815:Young Adult