Brain and Spine Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Titolo Law Firm : Las Vegas, Nevada

During my law school experience in the mid 1980s I was chosen to participate in a nationwide, seminar called "Right to Die."  This was an interdisciplinary exercise of law, medicine, nursing, theology and others.  All of us were students in out respective fields brought together to consider whether an individual should or can possess the right to die with dignity.

In cases of undeniably fatal illness, can someone decide to end their life?  Over 30 students from around the country met in San Francisco, paid for entirely with grant money, to participate.  The notion and experience never left me.

In now appears that science can read desires of comatose patients with functional MRI.  The ethical dilemma again comes to mind.  Here are some excerpts from a recent article.

A British researcher claims that he has devised a way to communicate with people who, though can't move their limbs, are consciously aware.

While making a presentation at the Organisation for Human Brain Mapping Conference, Dr. Martin Monti of the Medical Research Council's Cognition and Brain Science Unit in Cambridge said that his work might have implications for the medical diagnosis of people in a vegetative state, and for determining whether to discontinue feeding.

Dr. Monti said that the study had a 100 per cent success rate in determining the right answer.

He said that the research might help, in the long term, reconnect patients with their families.

It might also be helpful in providing a solution to legal battles over whether to discontinue feeding a patient.

"There will be a lot of ramifications from this technology. The medical system needs to understand how to use it and at some point we have to look at the ethical and legal ramifications," he said.

"If you had a patient (in a coma-like state) who you could reliably see they do not want to live, how would you react to that?" he added.

Published by HT Syndication with permission from Asian News International.

Copyright © HT Media Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Provided by ProQuest LLC.

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In a medical era governed by managed health care and scientific advances, physicians have increasingly emphasized disease prevention and early diagnosis. Such a strategy both reduces costs, as it is generally much more cost-effective to prevent a disease than it is to treat its manifestations, and increases treatment efficacy, as most diseases are more easily cured or ameliorated earlier in their progression.

The premise is doing MRI scans BEFORE symptoms arise.  MRI is being offered to the public for as low as $200.

The pros and cons are discussed in an article entitled Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scans for Asymptomatic Patients: Role in Medical Screening.

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I came across this brief explanation of some of the topics I will be presenting with Dr. Joseph Wu of University of California, Irvine, in next week's Brain Injury Association of America Conference in Las Vegas.  Here Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computed Tomography (CT), Functional Magnetic Resonance (fMRI), Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) are discussed.  These diagnostics show us the structure and metabolism of the brain.  EEG (not discussed below) reveals electrical activity of the brain. Dr. Wu is the Director of the Brain Imaging Center and will be discussing advances in Positron Emission Tomography technology and use in brain injury detection. 

This information was derived from Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2007:

Brain Imaging

Several commonly used diagnostic methods give images of the brain without invading the skull. Some portray anatomy—that is, the structure of the brain—whereas others measure brain function. Two or more methods may be used to complement each other, together providing a more complete picture than would be possible by one method alone.

 

Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), introduced in the early 1980s, beams high-frequency radio waves into the brain in a highly magnetized field that causes the protons that form the nuclei of hydrogen atoms in the brain to reemit the radio waves. The reemitted radio waves are analyzed by computer to create thin cross-sectional images of the brain. MRI provides the most detailed images of the brain and is safer than imaging methods that use X rays. However, MRI is a lengthy process and also cannot be used with people who have pacemakers or metal implants, both of which are adversely affected by the magnetic field.

Computed Tomography or CT

Computed tomography, also known as CT scans, developed in the early 1970s. This imaging method X-rays the brain from many different angles, feeding the information into a computer that produces a series of cross-sectional images. CT is particularly useful for diagnosing blood clots and brain tumors. It is a much quicker process than magnetic resonance imaging and is therefore advantageous in certain situations—for example, with people who are extremely ill.

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of fMRI

Changes in brain function due to brain disorders can be visualized in several ways. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy measures the concentration of specific chemical compounds in the brain that may change during specific behaviors. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) maps changes in oxygen concentration that correspond to nerve cell activity.

Positron Emission Tomography or PET

Positron emission tomography (PET), developed in the mid-1970s, uses computed tomography to visualize radioactive tracers (see Isotopic Tracer), radioactive substances introduced into the brain intravenously or by inhalation. PET can measure such brain functions as cerebral metabolism, blood flow and volume, oxygen use, and the formation of neurotransmitters. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), developed in the 1950s and 1960s, uses radioactive tracers to visualize the circulation and volume of blood in the brain.

Brain-imaging studies have provided new insights into sensory, motor, language, and memory processes, as well as brain disorders such as epilepsy; cerebrovascular disease; Alzheimer's, Parkinson, and Huntington's diseases (see Chorea); and various mental disorders, such as schizophrenia.

 

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