http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?r109:78:./temp/~r1090OX7fB::
"Fifteen neurologists have signed affidavits that Terri should have additional testing by unbiased, independent neurologists. I am told that Terri never had an MRI or a PET scan of her head, and that disturbs me only because it suggests she hasn't been fully evaluated by today's standards. You don't have to have an MRI or PET scan to make a diagnosis of persistent vegetative state, but if you are going to allow somebody to die, starve them to death, I would think you would want to complete a neurological exam. She has not had an MRI or a PET scan, which suggests she has not had a full neurological exam.
I should also note that the court sided with the testimony of Dr. Ronald Cranford, who is an outspoken advocate of physician-assisted suicide.
A 1996 British Medical Journal study conducted in England's Royal Hospital for Neurodisability concluded there was a 43 percent error rate in the diagnosis of PVS. It takes a lot of time, as I mentioned earlier, to make this diagnosis with a very high error rate. If you are going to be causing somebody to die with purposeful action, like withdrawal of the feeding tube, you are not going to want to make a mistake in terms of the diagnosis."
I know that Terri has had numerous CAT scans.
If Terri has an MRI done (and I'm assuming it's correct that she hasn't had one done), and the results are that she is PVS, then nothing has changed from all the other numerous neurological testing she has had done.
Is an MRI the only tool that hasn't been used to determine whether she's actually PVS?
That's perhaps true, especially early in the case of someone who receives an injury or has something go wrong internally.
After 15 years of supposedly being in such a state, I'll bet the error rate is close to zero.
Thanks