Ethical considerations for integrating multimodal computer perception and neurotechnology.

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI)-based computer perception technologies (e.g., digital phenotyping and affective computing) promise to transform clinical approaches to personalized care in psychiatry and beyond by offering more objective measures of emotional states and behavior, enabling precision treatment, diagnosis, and symptom monitoring. At the same time, passive and continuous nature by which they often collect data from patients in non-clinical settings raises ethical issues related to privacy and self-determination. Little is known about how such concerns may be exacerbated by the integration of neural data, as parallel advances in computer perception, AI, and neurotechnology enable new insights into subjective states. Here, we present findings from a multi-site NCATS-funded study of ethical considerations for translating computer perception into clinical care and contextualize them within the neuroethics and neurorights literatures. Methods: We conducted qualitative interviews with patients (n = 20), caregivers (n = 20), clinicians (n = 12), developers (n = 12), and clinician developers (n = 2) regarding their perspective toward using PC in clinical care. Transcripts were analyzed in MAXQDA using Thematic Content Analysis. Results: Stakeholder groups voiced concerns related to (1) perceived invasiveness of passive and continuous data collection in private settings; (2) data protection and security and the potential for negative downstream/future impacts on patients of unintended disclosure; and (3) ethical issues related to patients' limited versus hyper awareness of passive and continuous data collection and monitoring. Clinicians and developers highlighted that these concerns may be exacerbated by the integration of neural data with other computer perception data. Discussion: Our findings suggest that the integration of neurotechnologies with existing computer perception technologies raises novel concerns around dignity-related and other harms (e.g., stigma, discrimination) that stem from data security threats and the growing potential for reidentification of sensitive data. Further, our findings suggest that patients' awareness and preoccupation with feeling monitored via computer sensors ranges from hypo- to hyper-awareness, with either extreme accompanied by ethical concerns (consent vs. anxiety and preoccupation). These results highlight the need for systematic research into how best to implement these technologies into clinical care in ways that reduce disruption, maximize patient benefits, and mitigate long-term risks associated with the passive collection of sensitive emotional, behavioral and neural data.

The mediums of dissemination of knowledge and illustration in neurosurgery: unraveling the evolution.

The earliest evidence of man's attempts in communicating ideas and emotions can be seen on cave walls and ceilings from the prehistoric era. Ingenuity, as well as the development of tools, allowed clay tablets to become the preferred method of documentation, then papyrus and eventually the codex. As civilizations advanced to develop structured systems of writing, knowledge became a power available to only those who were literate. As the search to understand the intricacies of the human brain moved forward, so did the demand for teaching the next generation of physicians. The different methods of distributing information were forced to advance, lest the civilization falls behind. Here, the authors present a historical perspective on the evolution of the mediums of illustration and knowledge dissemination through the lens of neurosurgery. They highlight how the medium of choice transitioned from primitive clay pots to cutting-edge virtual reality technology, aiding in the propagation of medical literature from generation to generation across the centuries.

The Historical Evolution of Intracranial Pressure Monitoring.

Intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring has become an important tool in neurocritical care. Despite being used in intensive care units all over the world, many are unfamiliar with its origins and the people and events that shaped the development of this technique. Herein, we provide a comprehensive historical review of the evolution of ICP monitoring, beginning with the earliest descriptions of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). We conducted a database search in PubMed, Google Scholar, and Google Books for relevant articles using the key words "cerebrospinal fluid," "intracranial pressure," and "monitoring." Papers were further snowballed using reference lists of relevant papers. Although the earliest descriptions of CSF date back several hundred years bce, the history of ICP monitoring itself is not a long one. Alexander Monro and his student George Kellie laid the foundation of CSF physiology in the early 1800s through the Monro-Kellie doctrine. Their principles were later consolidated by John Abercrombie and Harvey Cushing. However, 10 years earlier than Cushing's work on CSF physiology, Hans Queckenstedt's utilization of a lumbar needle to measure the pressure in CSF marked the beginning of the era of ICP monitoring. Thenceforward, ICP monitoring technology underwent progressive improvements through the contributions of French scientists Jean Guillaume and Pierre Janny, Swedish neurosurgeon Nils Lundberg, among others. Nowadays, ICP monitoring can be performed via direct and indirect methods using a potpourri of devices such as, but not limited to, subarachnoid bolts, microtransducer catheters, and telemetric monitors. Nevertheless, despite advancements in ICP monitoring technology, the criterion standard remains an extraventricular drain catheter connected to an external pressure transducer.