Tutorial "Single-case evaluation of consciousness: same patient, different modalities": fMRI-based assessment of a single patient

Tutorial: Patients with disorders of consciousness are by definition unable to communicate. This makes the evaluation of their state of consciousness a major challenge. To date, there are not standardized guidelines as to how a post-comatose patient can be evaluated by means of assisting technologies. With this tutorial, we bring together specialists from three expert centers dealing with intensive evaluation of the state of consciousness in patients sustaining severe brain injuries. Our aim is to illustrate how we can infer a clinical diagnosis by integrating different data from behavioral and brain function as measured with different technological modalities. Specifically, we will discuss the case of a patient for whom behavioral, electrophysiological and neuroimaging data have been acquired with the aim to provide a global diagnosis of the state of consciousness. We will show how each of these evaluations are performed in step-by-step manner. Each presenter will further illustrate the methodological challenges and pragmatic solutions towards the inference of valid conclusions. In order to integrate the results into a global diagnostic category, we wish to engage the audience to participate interactively towards the composition of a final diagnostic report, as we typically do at our clinical sites