SeeMe: A Pilot Study Developing Predictive, Real-Time Consciousness Assessment Metrics Based on Facial Expression Changes

Acute brain injury (ABI) recovers at a variable rate. While some progress has been made in predicting long-term outcomes in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and intracranial hemorrhage, there is a critical need for short-term prediction of outcomes, in the first days and weeks after injury. With advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence, there is a growing interest in facial analysis and its application in neurological and psychiatric disorders. Here we describe "SeeMe," a novel automated objective measure of consciousness based on microexpression analyses in response to auditory commands. In measuring the smallest muscular movements undetectable by clinical observation, this technique has the high spatial resolution needed to detect hidden signs of recovery and the high temporal resolution needed to study neural circuits.