Regarding MRI vs CT scans: MRI machines certainly have much higher fidelity; however CT scans have been used for over 30 years to determine changes in tissue density in the brain (they were designed for this). The diagnosis (of fluid buildup causing compression and death of brain tissue) is based on tissue density information described in her scans - http://www.miami.edu/ethics2/schiavo/CT%20scan.png . Had this been an issue of small trauma the issue would be different, however CT scans are more then capable to properly diagnose the problem.
The problem is that what was relevant here wasn't the 'problem', but the residue. A CT scan could certainly tell there wasn't a whole lot of the cortex left, but in functional terms there can be a huge difference between 'very little' and 'none'. A CT scan can't make the distinction, but other technologies could.
Chad, I'll take the word of a prominent an academic neurologist like Dr Moran that you are wrong. Don't quit your day job and take up brain surgery.
