https://thenextweb.com/syndication/2020/03/23/how-tech-is-helping-brain-injured-patients-with-decision-making/

When a person sustains a severe brain injury that leaves them unable to communicate, decisions about their treatment must be made for them. In some cases, these decisions can mean the difference between life and death. But new research may have found a new way of communicating with patients who might otherwise have been unable to.

Researchers asked volunteers with normal brain function to imagine playing a game of tennis, which activates a specific area of the brain used for planning complex movements. Researchers were able to see the brain activity using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), which is a headset that, when placed on a patient’s head, uses beams of light to detect which areas of the brain are active.