A brain scanning technique has “far-reaching” potential for predicting the fate of severely brain-damaged vegetative patients, research has shown.

Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging was able to identify signs of awareness in patients previously thought to be lost to the world on the basis of standard tests.

Nine of the group later recovered a reasonable level of consciousness. Overall, the scan was able to predict the extent of recovery of isolated brain-damaged patients within the next year with 74 per cent accuracy. In comparison, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) – another brain scanning technique – was only 56 per cent accurate.

Professor Steven Laureys, from the University of Liege in Belgium who led the study, reported in The Lancet medical journal, said: “We confirm that a small but substantial proportion of behaviourally unresponsive patients retain brain activity compatible with awareness.

“Our findings suggest that PET imaging can reveal cognitive processes that aren’t visible through traditional bedside tests, and could substantially complement standard behavioural assessments to identify unresponsive or ‘vegetative’ patients who have the potential for long-term recovery.”

Judging the level of consciousness of severely brain-damaged patients can be challenging and distressing.

Traditionally, bedside clinical examinations are used to decide if a patient is in a minimally conscious state (MCS), or a vegetative state (VS), also known as unresponsive wakefulness syndrome.

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