Project description
A new electroencephalogram system improves diagnosis and rehabilitation for patients with disorders of consciousness
A disorder of consciousness (DOC) is a state where consciousness has been affected by brain damage. A new electroencephalogram (EEG) system has proven that some patients with DOC can follow basic instructions that do not require any movement and has allowed them to answer YES/NO questions. These studies have provided the foundation for new EEG-based solutions that could predict clinical outcomes and even improve the rehabilitation to facilitate cognitive and motor recovery and emergence into consciousness. The EU-funded ComAlive project will develop new methods to merge EEG-based assessment and communication tools with prediction to provide hope of rehabilitation for DOC patients.
Objective
Recent work has shown that up to 42% of patients diagnosed with a disorder of consciousness (DOC) are misdiagnosed. New EEG system have revealed that some DOC patients can follow basic instructions that do not require any movement, such as imagining movement or counting vibrotactile pulses, which has even allowed them to answer YES/NO questions. This work has provided the foundations for new EEG-based solutions that could go even further – such as predicting clinical outcomes and even providing rehabilitation to facilitate cognitive and motor recovery and emergence into consciousness. The ComAlive project will develop new methods for combining EEG-based assessment and communication tools with prediction and rehab to provide new hope for these patients. The applicant is a practicing neurologist with excellent experience with DOC patients, but does not have training in business, EEG classification methods or software engineering. ComAlive is led by an R&D performing SME with a long history of real-time EEG and biomedical systems, and the other beneficiary is a hospital that is renowned for work with target patients. ComAlive includes extensive dissemination and communication activities to convey our project results to numerous audiences and supplement the ER’s training-by-research. This project will help prepare the ER for a high-impact career working across business, academic, and medical sectors while developing a new industrial system, methods and knowledge that could dramatically impact thousands of lives in the EU alone.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF-EF-SE - Society and Enterprise panelCoordinator
4521 Schiedlberg
Austria
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.