RHN_Gary

Thats hard to answer. What is mundane to an able bodied person is amazing to someone who has been locked-in for some time. Sending an email, speaking using a computer, just expressing yourself. These are everyday things to us, but if you have been in a hospital unable to do any of these for many months, it is amazing. Apart from the mundane, we have enabled people to get involved in creating music and art using technology and that is amazing.

Well, I think probably Brain Computer Interfacing (BCI). there are lots of companies and researchers developing this, and there are working examples, but is is still not a very practical solution for disabled people to use. It has amazing potential though and will be very exciting to watch it having an impact over the next 5 to 10 years.

Well, it will sound like a cliche, but people do often want to tell their relatives that they love them. For someone who is Locked-in, they may have been aware of their surroundings for some time but not able to make their feelings known. They also want to ask questions about what has happened to them.

We tend to use Windows. For the very specialised access we do, there is more software for windows than for Apple OS's, Linux etc. I'm talking about switch scanning software and eye-gaze software in particular. The hardware for eye-gaze technology is also very Windows based at present. Having said all that, the iPad is changing everything and more and more apps are becoming available for iPads and iPhones. Its not quite as capable as windows for special access just yet, but it won't be long. The iPad has been amazing however in bringing down costs and raising awareness.

Unfortunately for someone in a vegetative state there is very little we can do with technology as it currently exists, they will depend on good nursing and medical care but won't be able to use the type of technology we use. What we can do is use technology to help distinguish between people who are in a vegetative state and people who are in a minimally conscious state and this is done a great deal here at the Royal Hospital. People in a Minimally Conscious State are able to respond to their environment, but this is inconsistent. Technology can help to motivate and facilitate then to make responses so that their real level of consciousness is accurately assessed.