Positive Technology Journal

Pupil responses allow communication in locked-in syndrome patients.

Josef Stoll et al., Current Biology, Volume 23, Issue 15, R647-R648, 5 August 2013

For patients with severe motor disabilities, a robust means of communication is a crucial factor for their well-being. 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.

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