Opportunities for Technology to Facilitate Treatment for People with Disorders of Consciousness

People diagnosed with a disorder of consciousness (DoC)—a spectrum of consciousness including comatose state—typically have a negative prognosis and their treatment options are limited. We interviewed seven clinical care providers who are involved in caring for DoC patients to explore the potential for technology to facilitate treatment and care of DoC patients. The interviews revealed multiple rich opportunities in this space centered around optimizing sensory stimulation—the systematic delivery of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touch. Simultaneously, the interviews also revealed many ethical and technical challenges inherent in DoC patient care, including difficulty in obtaining familiar media to use in the delivery of the sensory stimulation. Our findings underscore the need for technology that complements, not replaces, the human elements of DoC care and healthcare more generally.