#MRI Transport

[kryptonite-solutions]

Exciting New Radiography Innovations Empower Patient Care Worldwide

World Radiography Day, celebrating advancements in MRI that enhance diagnostic accuracy while prioritising patient comfort and well-being. In radiography, diagnostic accuracy and the patient experience are being advanced. In MRI, for instance, the psychological well-being of the patient, as well as comfort, has taken centre stage. It goes beyond diagnosis; it seeks to create an environment where the patient feels at ease and less anxious by knowing they are in competent hands. Such new technologies as MRI experiences comfort the otherwise intimidating MRI process, enabling imaging that supports clinical precision and patient ease.

Today's MRI suites are far from those of the past. While some radiology rooms remain unscathed, stark and unbreathable spaces where most people dread coming inside to lie down and listen, many are finding refuge within imaginative solutions such as patient relaxation virtual skylights with their rendition of sky views, the sun on clear weather or some other visual panorama so the patient could think his surroundings are actually part of a larger opening landscape or something similar and even take the edge off this fear of being shut within claustrophobia with it, especially on lengthy scanning sessions. This is part of a broader trend in healthcare towards MRI ambience solutions that reduce stress and facilitate a smoother imaging experience. The bottom line is the human aspect of healthcare- to make diagnostic imaging as friendly as possible to patients.

The most recent innovation in MRI technology is the In-Bore MRI, which lets patients view soothing visuals or movies during the scan. This way, an MRI-compatible monitor that might be placed inside the bore or tunnel of an MRI can distract the patient and divert attention away from the confined and constant noise produced by an MRI. In terms of aiding in sedation, it may serve the purpose without much challenge; the distraction made possible by this system is just enough to keep the patient still long enough to gain better images since motion is not tolerated in most equipment and procedures. This is not just about passing the time but also supports the success of diagnosis by reducing the movement of patients and enhancing image clarity.

MRI projectors and customised lighting systems create MRI projectors and customised lighting systems create a peaceful ambience in an MRI room. Ambient solutions can transform an ordinary MRI suite into a more serene environment by projecting scenic visuals on walls and diffusing the light in the room. This bespoke environment will be more soothing for the patient than a clinical examination. It reduces the clinical "feel" of the space, and such ambient technology resonates well with the concept of making health care less intimidating and more human. This is a value increasingly adopted by leading imaging centres across the world.

Functional MRI, or fMRI, brings patient-centered care to radiography. For example, with fMRI visual systems, patients undergoing brain scanning can be engaged by a monitor of an fMRI displaying stimuli that may enable them to relax during scanning. This technology is thus both diagnostic and patient-engageable and relaxing. MRI-compatible displays are designed to work entirely in the environment of an MRI, projecting images and data without interfering with imaging and thus making the patient more participatory than a passive observer in the scanning process.

Patients' comfort ranges from waiting rooms to the MRI suite. For example, tools such as MRI-compatible stretchers and wheelchairs facilitate patients' journey from the waiting room to the MRI suite. Made with the idea of safety and functionality within an MRI setting, these enable it to take out patients without disturbing the process. Among such features of an MRI-compatible camera is the possibility for a radiographer to keep monitoring the patient's response and effect the appropriate changes to it to bring a quality of care beyond merely scanning.

The most innovative MRI technology is the healthcare MRI cinema. Patients anxious about entering the MRI bore can now be distracted by selected films or quiet nature scenes on an MRI-compatible TV. This cinema is not only entertaining but can also reduce anxiety in a patient who might have problems with the confined space, reducing the need for sedation and other interventions. The cinema effect helps to have fewer motion artefacts of images, and thus, it allows a more reliable result to appear without the usual disconnection.

Patient-centric innovation, such as the In-Bore MRI launched in India, is a brilliant example of the possibilities modern radiography opens as the healthcare scene in India matures rapidly. These developments imply that patient convenience will not be secondary but included in the need for diagnostic purposes. Patients will find a solution with less anxiety, so imaging facilities must ensure a more rounded and humane experience where patient care and clinical success win out.

At the forefront, Kryptonite Solutions is dedicated to making MRI imaging more patient-friendly and is shaping diagnostic imaging environments by partnering with the latest MRI-compatible technologies, from display and stretchers to projector and ambient systems. These innovations serve clinical purposes, reflect a step forward in compassionate and practical approaches to patients' needs today, and set new standards for tomorrow.

[chargetheintruder]

(Personal, Long) This is why I can't use 9-1-1 currently.

Yes, there's the issue of not being able to call for an ambulance for my health concerns without involving the police. The last 3 times I tried to get an ambulance I got cops instead, and while they weren't hostile they were, you know, police, not medical personnel, and then there had to be a second wait FOR the ambulance. And the sad part of that is, that's a fairly GOOD outcome for the United States: too often you dial 9-1-1 and what you get is Death on Wheels as Officer Trigger-Happy and his boyfriend, Officer Panic Attack, show up locked, loaded and dogs off the leash. Everyone's hyped up, but it's for the wrong reasons, to say the least. Too many police show up with a "who do I kill?" mindset versus a "who do I help?" one.

But this one runs deeper than that. More on that below the break.

I've had fairly serious health issues now for years. I've just had to sit there and watch in horror as my life's fallen apart, piece by piece as I've become more of a shut-in due to my bladder, prostate and colon issues becoming a constant and life-wrecking hassle. No sleep, no real chance to maintain laundry, no endurance left to get out there and do things with, and yeah, having the COVID-19 pandemic and its dysfunction to work around has been a mixed blessing at best.

But the main thing of it is this. I was forced to move across town and nearly completely out of zipcode in 2019. I've been banished from a centrally-located neighborhood in my town to being nearly in the boonies in the town next door--now I'm about 3 miles away from the bulk of my healthcare and I have neither a car or the license to legally drive one. There's mass transit bus service, sure, and that takes an hour's ride plus a walk to get to many places near Carle Hospital in town. So basically, I have no transportation I can reliably use to get to places without a longer trip than what my lower-body will tolerate.

So I did, a few times, have to use an ambulance service to get there to try to get help. And I got dumped by the Emergency Ward--basically given minimal meds/help and then told to "walk it off" and "go home" on foot, once late at night, once during the day, both times without even being told what bus routes run out to the place, or what my options were in terms of transportation home (and what I'd be billed for those). And yes, dumping happens, it's a thing:

And the last three times weren't any better. I got help with bus route info exactly ONCE from a specific nurse who even helped me make sure I had bus fare, but if she hadn't been there, nobody else would have been. The next one doesn't count--it was on my birthday 2 years ago and like an idiot, I admitted my physical health issues were emotionally distressing, and making me crazy. This got me put out to the Psychiatric Ward for my birthday, and then 6 days-ish of my being treated like dirt in the name of CBT exercises and enforcing obedience to Nurse #Karen. Although to be fair, EVERYONE in the Ward was being treated like dirt, half-starved by the lack of medically ordered dietary options, half-left to rot for want of access to hygiene goods, and a lot of us were left to fend for ourselves (and wait our turns for the most aggressive people to get done and get out of the way already). Point being, I got no help for the physical issues (I couldn't and they wouldn't), but I did at least get a ride home, after a colossal hassle.

Third time? Look, one side effect of the urinary tract business is that I get water issues (swelling, pain, bloating) in my feet and lower legs. I can't always stand and walk a lot. So I did get pushy ONCE and insist on a ride home on a "bill me later?" basis, since a) I don't have a smartphone for Uber purposes, and b) offering me an Uber home might have been a HIPAA (privacy act) violation on top of that. So I now owe a back debt (some 6 months old) of $36 bucks to the ambulance service. Meaning that won't work again, but at the same time, I didn't have to "walk it off" and dead-reckon/waddle my way home either like an unhinged duck trying to avoid being Duck Hunted By Police Helicopter. (all while hoping I don't pee myself all over the Mass Transit bus trying to get home from Downtown Urbana, ugh)

My point is? I've been dumped by Carle facilities at least twice. I also know going the Mental Health route won't work since it won't get me even trivial aid for the bladder/prostate issues. They'll just accuse me of being a drunk and/or uncooperative and go into Prison Warden Mode.

When here's the truth: the week of my birthday last month, during the night of August 17th into the day of the 18th, I had a CYST pop audibly in my urethra, inside of my literal penis. I had planned to do something about my student loans the tail end of August, but instead I had to spend the next 2 weeks biting down volcanic pain and taking store-brand over-the-counter stuff to keep myself out of sepsis and to take the edge off of the pain.

And there's at least two more CYSTS where that came from: one in my urethra, a second lying quietly on top of my bladder. A simple ultrasound could detect them both. But nah. I had the CT scan done, and now people insist on shoving robot probes up my butt (colonoscopy) and up my urethra (cystoscopy, yes, even with cysts present) with minimal doses of over-the-counter numbing agent, because By God, Mandated Suffering, I've Gotta Be AWAKE For This Shit, said no one BUT the insurer. Nobody but the right-wingers at Carle and Aetna actually want this. There's probably laws on the books keeping a Veterinarian from shoving robot probes into Dogs and Horses without knocking them out first, but nah, people are fair game.

But yeah. I have cysts, acting a lot like tumors. But Carle is like SETI. According to SETI, "It's not aliens because it's NEVER ALIENS, It's always DUST." Carle is "It's not Cancer because it's NEVER CANCER, because you're too fucking poor to help with that." Well, not unless you want robot probes shoved up your junk while you're being forced to be awake and watch your own torture.

If only I had the spare money to throw into having a bodily MRI done that I could submit INSTEAD OF the Robot Probing. But nah, that would be cheating, and expensive:

But mainly it would be Cheating right-wingers and #Karens out of their chances to gloat and chuckle over how "they get to suffer." And by suffer I might mean exploding cysts, and also having to deal with butt-seizures every time I fart or drop bowel, and near-constant blockage issues happening between the colon, prostate and bladder in there. Really, my life's been ruined for a couple of solid years already. I've already BEEN made a neutered shut-in by this condition, so Nurse #Karen and her radical feminist buddies can party and gloat and laugh right up until I Bite The Dust.

What am I saying? I have flagrant cysts. I do NOT feel good. I'm exhausted and in constant pain. I have anywhere from a few days to a few weeks left to live, and this isn't intentional on my part. My shoes are worn out and I don't have decent clothes left for a final trip to the hospital anyway. When the landlords kicked me out of town and Carle made all of this so difficult, they both sentenced me to death, and for what, being a townie on their precious Campus? :p

Something like that. I say that because I have to block a LOT out of my mind and make whole days and weeks a Blank Space just to NOT be traumatized by "everything, all the time" the way some folks say I am. I already have to block out and/or de-escalate from a lot as it is.

But yeah, I might be involuntarily dead or something, sooner than I'd like to be. Whether it's a few days or a few weeks, I don't know, but it doesn't feel so good, particularly around where my kidneys are. Things have gotten WORSE-worse. I will hang in as long as I can, but I can't promise miracles.

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Month - July 2024

🏅- Talk about an Olympic comeback!

1. U.S. proposes ban on airline fees for seating parents next to kids

Parents should't have to pay a fee to sit next to their children when flying, according to the White House, which is moving to ban airlines from charging families extra to be seated together.

Under a rule proposed Thursday by the Department of Transportation, airlines would be required to seat parents and kids 13 and younger together free of charge when adjacent seating is available at booking.

2. A spinal injury killed Adriana Ruano's dream as a gymnast. She just won Guatemala's first Olympic gold medal as a shooter.

Ruano was training for the 2011 world championships in gymnastics, a qualifier for the London Olympics the following year, when she felt pain in her back. An MRI showed the then-16-year-old had six damaged vertebrae — a career-ending injury.

But on Wednesday, she came back as a shooter and won Guatemala's first Olympic gold medal.

3. Woman swept out to sea rescued after surviving 37 hours in 6.5' waves, drifted over 50 miles.

A Chinese woman who was swept out to sea while swimming at a Japanese beach was rescued 37 hours later after drifting in an inflatable swim ring more than 80 kilometers (50 miles) in the Pacific Ocean, officials said Thursday.

4. Afghan Sisters Escape The Taliban To Achieve Olympic Dreams

Sisters Yulduz and Fariba Hashimi are set to become the first female cyclists from Afghanistan to compete in the Olympics. The siblings fled their country after the Taliban seized power in 2021 and cracked down on women's rights, including banning women from participating in sports.

5. Stem cell therapy cures man with type 2 diabetes

A 59-year-old man had been suffering from diabetes for 25 years, needing more and more insulin every day to avoid slipping into a diabetic coma and was at risk of death. But then Chinese researchers cured his disease for the first time in the world. The patient received a cell transplant in 2021 and has not taken any medication since 2022.

6. Seventh person likely 'cured' of HIV, doctors announce

A 60-year-old German man is likely the seventh person to be effectively cured from HIV after receiving a stem cell transplant, doctors announced on Thursday. The man received a bone marrow transplant for his leukaemia in 2015. The procedure, which has a 10 percent risk of death, essentially replaces a person's immune system.

7. Every country has now banned the use of leaded gasoline in cars

Three and a half decades later, in 2021, Algeria became the last country to ban it. Leaded gasoline is now banned from being used in road vehicles in every country. It is a big win for the health of people around the world.

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That's it for this month :)

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[startreksetplans]

Olympic Class idea

Had a (non-canon) idea about the Olympic class - what if it could saucer separate...

The two parts of the ship

Sphere - holds the warp core & associated systems, nacelles, general engineering, bridge, crew quarters, and crew facilities

Module - Hospital that can be sealed off from the main ship (in case of contagions). It has a shuttlebay to receive medical shuttles, docking ports for ships. Also probably a lot of transporters.

Why separate? Sometimes a hospital must remain in orbit of a planet for quite a long time. Why not have the drive do something else in the mean time.

The Sphere could dock with other modules

Colony Module - carries all the colonists, supplies, construction material etc. When delivered to site, the module becomes an orbiting space station, providing docking and transporter systems for supply ships.

Cargo Module - either bulk freight, or specialised hazardous material such as Neutronic Fuel. Ships going "where no one has gone before" need resupply now and again in the field rather than turn around and head back home for supplies.

Science Stations - manned or unmanned, easier to build at a construction facility than on-site near that black hole you want to study

Sensor Pods - the Olympic sphere could accompany science ships with large mission specific sensor pods. Planet scanning MRI machines for example. [side note: this is what I think the Oberth has - a large uninhabited sensor pod. Held away from the ship due to dangerous emissions. It was meant to be scanning the entire planet, not just surface scans.]

With separation, the Olympic goes from a single purpose to a flexible multi-purpose support ship.

In these pictures, it looks as if the mount for the nacelles struts is resting on top of the long body module.

The original model blueprints for the ship model had different nacelles - perhaps the sphere section had an in-universe refit.

If you wanted to modernise / refit an Olympic ship, taking out the one ship does not prevent the modules beings used by another Olympic in the meantime.

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Healthcare Quotes!

(dark humor)

Four: My patient really needs a liver transplant. I want tonight to be the night he gets it. Legend: What’s your blood type? Four, rolling his eyes: Not my liver. I want to see him recover and all! Sky: That would be the fastest way to procure it, though. The ultimate sacrifice for your patient. Truly being a patient advocate. Legend: Let us know when you off yourself and we’ll give it like six minutes so you can be properly brain dead and all. Four, huffing: How about Warriors? He’s strong, healthy— Sky: Nah, he drinks too much, you don’t want his liver. Wars: >:O I DO NOT Legend: *wheezing*

…

Mo: *coughing* Hyrule: You good? Mo: I’m dying Aurora: None of that crap until the shift is over, we’ve had enough call outs tonight! Mo, sadly: Aw man

…

Warriors: *exiting a patient’s room laughing* Legend: What’s so funny? Wars: This dude has the absolute best insults ever. Legend: Who was he insulting? Wars: Me, because he didn’t get his water fast enough, but man was it amazing. Legend, interested now: So what did he call you?? Warriors, smirking evilly: You’ll never know. Legend: Wha—YOU CANT LEAD ME ON AND THEN LEAVE ME HANGING LIKE THAT

…

Twilight, staring into the void: Ilia: What’s wrong? Twi: The girl in 15 said I couldn’t play with her ponies because I wasn’t cool enough. Ilia, biting back laughter: That’s rough, buddy

…

Wild: This one teenager I was transporting to MRI said I was so bad at directions I couldn't find my way out of a paper bag. Twilight: She ain’t wrong. Wind: Did you say anything back? Wild: I said “Actually I can, animal control tried to use a bag to catch me and I found my way out of it just fine.” Twi, sighing: I can believe it

…

Time, stopping a surgical resident from doing something: That is what we call an artery. When I said don’t kill the patient, I meant don’t kill the patient. Since you were about to cut the artery, I think we need a lesson really quickly on what does and does not kill a patient. Time: For example. Bleeding to death leads to dying. I know this might be hard for you to understand but— Malon: *narrows eyes, raises eyebrow* Time:…But I understand you’re still learning.

…

Fable: Yeah, so she was supposed to get a mini-MVR, they perfed her LV, then they fixed that and her papillary muscles tore, then they tried to fix that and she got a VSD, so they just put her on ECMO and balloon pump and shipped her to us. Wild: What does—what?? Time: Her heart woke up and chose violence. Or her surgeon did, I’m not sure which.

[velvetvexations]

"I'm constantly shaking my fist at urbanites and their domination of the conversation, although mostly out of naked envy." MOOOOOOOD!!! This is so well put tbh. Like I now live in what to me is a big city (15k ppl & we have a WHOLE hospital! With an MRI and everything!) & my local trans community is two (2) regulars who come into my work who probably don't know my (dead)name and I would die for them both. I know statistically there's more of us. In fact I bet most of them (including one of the earlier two) are in the same boat of well transitioning isnt safe so here the fuck I am. & Like both sides of the discourse sometimes get me seething in still-not-used-to-not-being-vastly-outnumbered-by-cows. Like "stop being weird & just go to the gay bar" and "transmascs are invading our Sacred Trans Spaces" both have me just. Some of us are out here marvelling at not having to drive over half an hour to get milk that's cheaper than 5 bucks updated for 2024: 7 bucks a gallon. & Like there's definitely plenty of us that are in 7 bucks for a gallon of milk land! There's people that have to drive hours to get gender affirming care because they have to drive hours to access healthcare. I'd love to hear the acknowledgement that we exist from people that aren't us but mostly I just covet what they have.

Every time people talk about public transportation I feel like I'm reading fan discussion of Clop Flitter racing dimblows in Star Wars.

[faterunes]

hellooo, my names julius and my two roomies and i are in a bit of a tight squeeze at the moment. thankfully our landlord is letting us renew the lease but we are in a bad spot financially and arent exactly able to afford the full amount to renew the lease on time.

due to terrible fibromyalgia and ptsd flares as well as lack of transportation, i was making my living drawing digital art for freelance commission work, but recently fell and snapped something in my dominant hand. the hospital kept pushing my x-rays and other imaging back because of healthcare understaffing, but i am finally scheduled for an mri and, despite not knowing the nature of my injury until those results come back, my doctor said not to be hopeful and that this pain will probably stay with me for life. this wrist has required numerous other imaging, tests, and hospital visits before in the past because of serious nerve damage, and im terrified ill have to pay for a painful surgery and long amounts of physical therapy if the mri doesnt come back normal and this doesnt heal. i can't draw anymore and have no other way of making money.

after a month of job searching one of my roomies is dealing with his new job withholding his tips after claiming to have "lost" them, as well as the suicide of his close family member literally last week. on top of this, he contracted covid from the funeral and can no longer work due to how sick he is. the other is working 2 jobs and taking the role as covid caretaker, but can only cover and do so much. the three of us are surviving on a single income at the moment as well as whatever help our families have been able to spare and its been rough, to say the least.

any and all help is super super appreciated. everything we get is going towards emergency funds as well as rent, electric/water bills, medical bills, and whatever other roadblocks we may come across while trying to survive.

thank you all so much for any help and consideration 🫶 all likes and reblogs are super appreciated and any donations even moreso!

c/ashapp: $cmine12 // ve/nmo: cmine12 // paypal: ask

0/2000$

[fannyrosie]

I've followed you for quite a while and I've always loved your style plus I lived vicariously through your life in Japan lol. I'm sorry if you've already posted this I couldn't find the post but I was wondering why you left Japan. It's my dream to live there one day and I was curious what it was like.

I have answered that in my Instagram Stories, but here is the long story version (TL;DR: I came back mainly because of my poor health):

I left Japan after 6 1/2 years for several reasons, but one the main reason is because of my health. I've never been the healthiest person, even before moving there (I was even dubbed "the sick one" at my old job because I often had to suddenly leave work in the afternoons). I was constantly tired and had really bad abdominal pains. I saw several doctors in Montreal, and all I managed to get was a diagnosis for IBS and anxiety. However, I was functional most days, and managed to work and live relatively normally, as long as I rested a lot and stuck to my FODMAP diet.

During the few first years of my life in Japan, my physical health remained that way, with some random very bad health periods, but overall, I was fine. I even started to workout regularly to improve my posture and muscles. However, from 2020 onwards, my health declined significantly. On top of my worsening IBS, I started having really bad spine pains, radiating to my head, chest and arms, and making me so tired I had to take several days of rest every time I went out. I started to catch every little virus I got in contact with, and had to avoid taking public transport the most I could. I was working from home, and walked a lot, so that was manageable, but it made me more isolated.

I saw several doctors, but even though they did blood tests and x-rays, they couldn't find anything and just assumed it was stress. After reading about EDS, I thought I might have that (since I am also hypermobile), and had to wait 7 months to get an appointment at Todai's hospital. However, on the day of my appointment, I got told that Todai only deals with EDS related to heart issues, and my tests were all normal, including my x-rays. That was in June 2022, and was the final straw, as it proved that even the most advanced hospital in Japan couldn't help me. By that time, I had to wear a back brace to do the most basic things, like laundry or going to the supermarket, and was taking painkillers every day. I had to stop working because I couldn't work on my computer for more than 2 hours a day. Obviously, no work=no money.

Coming back to Québec, I had to wait 3 months to get back on the public health system, and as of today (6 months after being back), I managed to get x-rays and MRI showing I have: discopathy (degenerative spine disk disease), osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease), several herniated disks in my cervical region and pinched nerves due disks collapsing. Basically, I have the spine of a 70 year old. I have been referred to a physiatrist, but we all know that Québec's public health system is very slow. so God knows when I'll see one. Nevertheless, they found something, which is better than all the doctors in Japan who told me it was just stress. Japan sadly has a big culture of having to "endure" pain (mental or physical), and it shows in their medical system.

Due to the degenerative nature of the illnesses they found up to now, my health is constantly getting worse. I used to have good and bad health days, but now, I have more bad health days than good health days. I still take painkillers every day and wear my back brace to do normal tasks, but most days, these are not enough. I am trying to make the most of my "good" health days by dressing up and doing nice things, but I never know how I will be the next day (or hour).

I had to take two breaks writing this; hopefully it makes sense haha

[mawofthemagnetar]

The first thing you see when you turn your head to the right is suddenly transported into minecraft in front of the last MCYT you watched. What is it and what do you think would happen?

I’m not sure what Iskall is going to do with an entire MRI machine but it’s going to be hilarious, I’m sure.

[mynameismckenziemae]

Well, the first (of many) bills came. $4,313 after insurance.

It’s better than the $86,000 it would’ve been without.

This is what we know so far:

The medflight/helicopter ride: $30,000

The first hospital stay: $86,000

The utility pole replacement: $5,340

These are still coming:

The medical transport from the first hospital to the second.

The entire second hospital stay (inpatient physical rehab).

12 weeks of physical therapy and occupational therapy.

6 weeks of speech therapy.

The pelvis x-rays.

The neck x-rays.

The ortho visits.

The neurosurgery visits.

The upcoming MRIs.

Etc. etc. etc.

I’m so happy he’s improving and I’m so grateful he’s still here. I’m trying not to complain but man, this shit is daunting when you don’t make that much money.

[lastlycoris]

Most correctional facility hospitals do not have a surgical wing or any of the fancy machines that doctors take for granted like a CT or an MRI. Problem is that whenever Blackgate criminals are feigning sickness and are transported to an outside hospitals, they almost inevitably escape from custody. So they built a semi-functional hospital here instead.

I'm not the only doctor. We do have daytime internal medicine doctors, but there's a few of them and many many prisoners. I'm not really an internist either, but I know enough to ask for help if I need it. Unlike some other folk who don't know that they don't know - and get in a lot of trouble for it.

I miss my snacks.

[kryptonite-solutions]

The Role of Technology in Understanding Human Behaviour

Technology has always played a very big role in helping us move forward with our understanding of human behaviour. From the very early days of behavioural psychology to the most advanced research in neuroscience today, we have had technological innovations that help us find out how we think, feel, and act. These tools are proving to be more essential every day in both research and clinical settings as we delve even deeper inside the labyrinth called the human mind.

Research in human behaviour has undergone some quintessential changes over the last couple of decades. The means have evolved from the earlier traditional techniques of observation and self-reporting to more sophisticated ways of accumulating information that is objective and quantifiable. Of these, technologies related to neuroimaging have had a special place. For example, functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or fMRI, can show real-time activity of the brain, giving new insights into which neural mechanisms underlie behaviour.

This genuinely tips the scale from purely observational techniques to data-driven approaches within the disciplines of psychology and neuroscience. It has brought the capacity to quantify the activity of the brain as a function of various stimuli, the influence of diverse environments on mental states, and neural correlates of choice. This new technology-based approach gives more correct, granular models of human behaviour, which helps in the prediction and influence of behavioural outcomes.

The development of functional magnetic resonance imaging systems has been included in the list of the most significant technological breakthroughs in human behaviour research. They are not only applied in basic academic studies but even in clinical practices to acquire insight into the functioning of the brain. While the areas of application for traditional MRI were related to structural imaging, fMRI detects changes in blood flow, which allows measures of brain activity. This allows researchers to examine all functional areas of the brain, including which parts of it are activated during different tasks or emotional states.

It involves an fMRI visual system, which makes it possible to present visual stimuli to a subject under observation by measuring brain activity in response to the respective stimuli. Such systems include but are not limited to, MRI-compatible displays and specially designed fMRI monitors to work within the magnetic environment generated by an MRI machine. These are important tools in ensuring that the data gathered is accurate and reliable, free from interferences that may distort results.

In particular, advanced medical technologies diffuse very fast in India, and the presence of In-Bore MRI systems is increasing significantly. It shall provide a better ambience to the patients for comfortable staying during the scan within the MRI in-bore. This becomes extremely important to behavioural studies where patient relaxation can alter the quality of the data collected. Technologies such as virtual skylights for healthcare and MRI cinema for healthcare are being integrated into MRI systems to create a soothing atmosphere and lower anxiety levels, improving patient cooperation.

Technology integration into the MRI environment is not limited to research. Great innovations, like MRI projectors, MRI-compatible monitors, and MRI-compatible screens, have made much for a better experience for patients while going through an MRI scan. These tools mollify the patient by engaging them with scenery or movies of a mollifying nature during their scan, hence reducing stress and anxiety.

These are technologies that are not only imperative in improving ambience but also in ensuring patient compliance, especially on scans where the patient is required to remain still for quite a long time. A good example is the MRI-compatible stretcher or MRI-compatible wheelchairs, which are fully functional within the MRI environment, ensuring minimal movement by the patient and smooth running of the scan.

Kryptonite Solutions has been one of the prime innovators at the forefront. Their contribution to the development of MRI healthcare systems used in behavioural research and clinical practice is immense. Their products, such as MRI-compatible displays and fMRI monitors, have been massively installed across facilities in India, giving researchers and clinicians the tools necessary for producing quality studies and enabling the delivery of exceptional patient care.

Advancing technology will further enhance our ability to analyse and learn from human behaviour. Sophisticated neuroimaging techniques, notably functional magnetic resonance imaging, will offer new research possibilities in the coming future. Interdisciplinary approaches will be applied at an even greater level of detail regarding how the brain responds to stimuli, hence more tailored and effective interventions.

Also, further development of MRI-compatible cameras and MRI-compatible TVs will enhance methods of data collection, enabling more dynamic and more interactive studies. As technologies become more sophisticated, they will be able to help researchers explore intricacies of human behaviour that hitherto have been unimaginable.

Technology cannot be outside the role it plays in understanding human behaviour. It went on to redesign the study of the human mind, from high-end imaging techniques of neuroscience to the most patient-friendly environments brought forth by the MRI in-bore experience enhancements. The future for behavioural research never looked so bright with new-aged companies like Kryptonite Solutions leading the way on new products and innovative ideas. Every new technology that is opening new avenues of investigation brings us closer to the full understanding of the complexity of human behaviour and therefore closer to a better way of life, learning, and healing.

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Scientists create world's strongest iron-based superconducting magnet using AI

Scientists have developed the world's strongest iron-based superconducting magnet using AI, in what could be a breakthrough for affordable MRI machines and the future of electrified transport. Superconducting magnets are capable of producing very strong, stable magnetic fields without the need for large amounts of power. This means they can be used in a range of technologies, including MRI machines that require a strong magnetic field to produce clear 3D images of soft tissue. They can also be used in the next generation of transport, including the SCMaglev train system in Japan. However, the superconductors currently used are primarily in the form of large coils of superconducting niobium-tin alloy wire. Devices using them need to accommodate this size, which can limit their application.

Read more.

[jeanniebug623]

🕸️🕷️ Weaving the Web 🕷️🕸️

Chapter 2: Something's Missing…

The evac was taking too damn long according to Quaritch. When he was head of security, and still human, emergency air evacuation would have been completed in less than 45 minutes given their close proximity to Bridgehead. He was pacing angrily, his tail flipping wildly with every turn. The squad had the camp repacked in less than 10 minutes. At least he could rely on someone.

“Don’t worry, boss, won’t be long now.” Wainfleet said, checking his watch and glancing at Zdinarsk, who nodded to confirm the Samson was close while staring at her radar. Even Z-Dog had abstained from snapping her bright pink gum bubbles so as not to annoy the colonel.

Quaritch wanted to go off on a tirade about how they’d be halfway to base if he were still in charge, but his squad didn’t deserve that. He had loyal soldiers in his unit. Ja had immediately dropped the marine mode and worked on Spider. With the boy unconscious, the good doctor couldn’t remove his mask to even clean the bloody nose. He’d checked his heart rate, breathing, and done a quick brain scan with the rudimentary equipment he could carry in the field.

“He’ll need an MRI, CT, and neuroimaging.” Ja said, the only time Quaritch stopped leaving a path in the underbrush, “To start. And if you could get me the monitor reports from his…” He paused and his ears went back. “Questioning, it would-…”

“Consider it done.” Quaritch interrupted with a gruff tone. Anything to help Ja and the medical staff at Bridgehead figure out what brought on Spider’s sudden outburst. Outburst was a kind term for what they just witnessed.

Quaritch remembered a technician calling Spider ‘completely feral’ when he was first captured by the RDA. He screamed and cursed in English and Na’vi, tried to break the one-way mirror with the chair he’d been graciously offered then had taken away right after, and attempted to force open a security door that not even a dozen Na’vi could do. Quaritch saw that anger, but that was child’s play compared to the manic look in the boy’s eyes during the verbal assault.

“About goddamn time…” Quaritch growled when they heard the Samson coming inbound. They’d carefully moved Spider to a clearing so the aircraft could land instead of slinging him over his shoulder like the last time he transported the kid against his will.

“Someone grab the backboard.” Ja said to anyone close as he tucked the handheld brain scanner into a cargo pants pocket. But he was shouldered aside before anyone reached the aircraft to retrieve the stretcher.

“No time. Move out!” Quaritch said as he slid an arm under Spider’s back and knees, scooping him up easily and jogging over to the open side doors. He ducked as he shuffled towards the back of the Samson where there was more space to kneel on one knee and still hold the boy in his arms. He didn’t have many memories of holding the kid when he was an infant. Never thought he would get another chance...

The rest of the squad jumped on board and they were off. Back to the place Quaritch promised he’d keep Spider away from…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As much as Quaritch didn’t want to give him up, Wainfleet and Ja convinced their commanding officer to allow the hospital staff to take over Spider’s care when they reached the med bay. He didn’t want the boy out of his sight but what could he do at that moment?

Well, there was one thing.

“Lyle, with me.” Quaritch said as he started walking away. He kept going as he turned to point back at Ja. “Stay here and report as SOON as you get somethin’ from the kid or the doctors.”

Ja saluted and stood at attention in the entrance that doubled as a classic hospital waiting room, complete with terribly boring artwork on the wall.

Quaritch and Wainfleet marched right to the heart of Bridgehead City: the Sec-Ops command center. Until it had more civilian citizens, Bridgehead was just another military base. Even if he didn’t have security clearance, Quaritch wouldn’t be stopped as he walked straight into a conference room Ardmore was heading with other high ranking officers, RDA superiors, and holographic displayed representatives still back on Earth.

“Colonel Quaritch.” Ardmore said with a hint of feigned surprise. When it came to the city and the RDA, nothing happened on Pandora that the general didn’t know about. “Tired of the kid already?”

Whether it was coincidence or not that Ardmore asked about Spider, Quaritch steeled himself and kept a calm composure as he dutifully saluted his superior officer.

“Not exactly the issue, General Ardmore.” Quaritch said with such a cool tone that even Wainfleet was surprised considering how fired up he was from the forest until they crossed the threshold into the conference room. “The boy suffered a severe nosebleed and collapsed unconscious. An emergency evacuation seemed necessary for an asset in custody of the RDA, ma’am.”

Ardmore narrowed his eyes slightly. Well spoken and well played. She looked to her mix of real and holographic audience, “If you will excuse me, I apologize for this interruption. Colonel.”

She nodded as she turned towards her office door and led Quaritch in. Wainfleet stayed back, crossing his arms and scanning the rooms. He wasn’t sure he'd seen more stuffed shirts in one room before.

“You say the boy collapsed?” Ardmore asked as she casually rounded her desk to sit down and look at the colonel, “That’s unfortunate to hear. I suggest you consider leaving Mr. Socorro in the capable hands of our medical staff while you continue your field missions.”

“With all due respect, General, I took responsibility for him for a reason. I’m not about to abandon my responsibilities due to a little mishap. I’m still at your disposal, ma’am, but one mission at a time.” Quaritch said coolly though he was boiling inside. He didn’t expect the general to give a damn about some wild child raised by the enemy who beat even her toughest interrogation methods. Yet, he was still angered by her lack of concern. Or dare you think it…compassion?

Ardmore didn’t respond just yet. Loyalty, responsibility, mission. Quaritch was playing all the right cards, and he wasn’t in a place where she could question it.

“Is the boy’s condition stable?” Ardmore asked with very little interest.

“To be determined, ma’am.” Quaritch started, trying not to bite off his tongue with his sharp teeth every time he showed her extra respect, “That’s why I so rudely interrupted your meeting. My apologies.”

“You saved me really.” Ardmore said, sounding bored, “I’m sure you remember how tedious it can be explaining living on Pandora to those who’ve never set foot here. So how can I help with the asset, Miles?”

Hearing his own name shouldn’t make Quaritch feel an anxious twinge in his chest. He’d lived with it his whole life. But now…having heard the way Spider said it…this alter ego or whatever the hell Quaritch was dealing with. He had never heard his name spoken with such malice.

“My medic did a check on the boy out in the field but it’s hard to determine the correct treatment without knowing all possible triggers. I would like to have a full report of the boy’s medical reports from his interrogations.” Quaritch explained. He made the request without actually asking. Making it clear he wasn’t ASKING for anything.

The general went quiet and appraised the ten-foot-tall reincarnation of one of Pandora’s most reputable and ruthless past inhabitants. Of course she knew the human Miles Quaritch had a son. She had taps on every human that stayed behind on the moon, including the ones born there.

Miles ‘Spider’ Socorro was practically the poster child for humanity’s successful transition to life off planet Earth. The first human born on Pandora; an intergalactic celebrity. But Ardmore didn’t have time for “celebrities”, the RDA could deal with the PR concerns. She needed her soldiers in line to keep the hostiles in line. If the head of her greatest tactical unit was distracted, it could cause a ripple effect through the ranks.

“Consider it done, Colonel.” Ardmore said, surprisingly agreeable considering Quaritch would likely respond negatively to what he learned, “So long as I can continue to count on your assistance with the hostiles. You’re not here to babysit, Miles, you’re here to finish what you started.”

“Understood, General Ardmore.” Quaritch said with another salute. Until the RDA found some hostiles to pacify, he would focus on Spider.

Ardmore kept her word when she said Ja would have the full medical report by the time Quaritch and Wainfleet returned to the medical wing. Sure enough, they entered the waiting area to see Ja crouched down against the wall and staring intently at a tablet. The colonel noticed how his medic, who was the calmest under pressure of the whole squad, looked unsettled.

“Ja, everything good?” Quaritch asked as he and Wainfleet approached. The medic looked up, his ears perking straight up from pinned back against his head.

“Sir, can we speak privately?” Ja said in a quiet, rushed voice.

Quaritch felt that twinge of anxiety come back and it was spreading through his chest. The three recoms ducked uncomfortably into an empty triage room and waited until their sensitive ears heard no one nearby. Quaritch looked back to Ja, he was crouched down and staring at the tablet again.

“Don’t leave me hangin’, doc.” Quaritch said with narrow eyes. He exchanged a look with Wainfleet, who just shrugged at Ja’s continued silence, before looking back to Ja. “Corporal. Speak up.”

“Sir, may I speak freely?” Ja said as he looked up to Quaritch. He received a prompt nod from his commanding officer and let out a sigh before asking, “What the fuck?”

“You’re gonna have to elaborate.” Quaritch growled, ears going back and tail flipping. Just what the hell did that report say to make one of his men speak so bluntly?

“Sir, how many of Spider’s interrogations did you witness?” Ja asked as he was swiping around on the tablet’s holographic screen.

“Two.” Quaritch said, eyes roving over Ja’s quick moving hands, “First interrogation lasted all of three minutes before he passed out. Second one lasted almost an hour and they didn’t get jack from the neuroscanner.”

“I’m not surprised…” Ja said as he turned the tablet around for the other recoms to look at. There were four separate images of top view brain scans. From left to right and top to bottom, the amount of bright oranges and red increased in the frontal lobe. Ja went on to explain, “Sir, each of these scans are a follow-up from a different session in the neuroscanner. They threw him in there four times, I’m guessing two more times between the first session when he passed out and the last one before you took custody. That’s twice the legal limit for this type of intensive interrogation per the UN’s Humane Treatment of POW Act.”

Quaritch stared at the scans, listening to Ja’s words. Spider had been interrogated while hooked up to the neuroscanner four times. FOUR times. And he only knew about two of them! He insisted on being present for the interrogations to make sure they went smoothly.

He felt himself feeling sick by how quickly anger was bubbling up inside him. Ja was continuing to explain the risks while Wainfleet stared at Quaritch, who was completely detached from the conversation. Eventually, the second in command told the medic to hold off on the explanation.

“Boss?” Wainfleet asked cautiously. He cleared his throat and spoke louder, “Colonel.”

“How’d this get past medical approval?” Quaritch asked quietly. He didn’t doubt for a second what the RDA was willing to do to get results. Hell, he’d invented most of the carrot and stick techniques used on Pandora!

“All these records have ‘Restrictions Omitted’.” Ja answered.

“How does that happen?” Quaritch felt the anger in his gut prompting his heart rate to pick up.

“I don’t know for sure, sir, but to bypass medical restrictions for something like this?” Ja theorized, though the politics of the situation weren’t his specialty, “You’d have to…not be protected by them.”

[ollieofthebeholder]

And If Thou Wilt, Forget: a TMA fanfic

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] || Also on AO3 and my personal website

Chapter 7: For this they wait, one waits in pain

There was some sort of confusion regarding the insurance that took a while to sort out, and the only doctor in the hospital qualified to perform brain surgery already had an operation scheduled for that morning and couldn’t arrive any earlier than he was already set to, which resulted in considerable debate over whether it would be better to move Gerard to another hospital or keep him there until the neurosurgeon was available, on which neither Gerard nor Gertrude was consulted. Evidently, however, the other hospitals in the area were also fully booked, and the decision was made that there was no point in transporting him somewhere else if he would have to wait the same length of time. It took Gertrude a great deal of effort to swallow down her impatience over the delay—she had work to do, after all, and this was seriously impeding her progress, to the point that she almost would have wondered if Gerard’s seeming illness was something caused by the Stranger trying to slow her down had the MRI not come back with positive results. In truth, she still wasn’t entirely sure it wasn’t.

Gerard, for his part, seemed relieved it wasn’t happening right away. He slept fitfully through the night—she was permitted to stay with him because they’d bought her claim that she was his mother—and she wasn’t sure if the constant waking and jerking about was due to pain or fear or something more insidious. Looking into his head would be a frivolous use of a dread power, so she restrained herself.

It was difficult, though, especially having to answer the same question every single time he surfaced from unconsciousness, which was proving to be at least once an hour. At least it wasn’t an example of memory loss.

She glanced at her cell phone just as it lit up with a notification—an incoming text message, unsurprisingly from Tim. Swiftly, knowing he was likely to call her if she didn’t and not wanting to disturb Gerard’s current state of rest, she sent him the exact building and current location, then slid the phone back into her pocket. Chicago traffic was less a condition and more a war in progress, but even with all that in mind, he would arrive within the hour, and hopefully would be in time. She didn’t need to wait for a response from him.

Which was a good thing, as she realized with mild surprise nearly twenty minutes later that she had never actually received one.

As the thought crossed her mind, Gerard stirred and woke once more, and once again spoke in a raspy, sleep-strangled voice. “What time is it?”

“Ninety-two minutes later than the last time you asked, Gerard,” Gertrude replied, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice. “It’s ten thirty-seven A.M.”

Gerard blinked at her, then sank back against the bed, blinking. So softly she almost didn’t hear him—a sure sign he wasn’t talking to her—he murmured, “Still morning.”

Gertrude glanced up at the ceiling. Technically, Gerard hadn’t been moved into a room yet; he was in a bed partitioned off from the larger part of the emergency room waiting to be prepped for surgery, and there were no windows back here. Understandable that he might have lost track of time, but a bit odd that he was so desperate to keep track.

“I think if your condition was at the risk of being immediately fatal, they would have rescheduled the morning’s patient,” she said as neutrally as she could.

Gerard rolled his head to look at her. Before he could answer, though—assuming he was planning to—the nurse who had been checking on him for most of the evening slipped around the curtain, a light jacket thrown over her scrubs and her purse dangling from her shoulder. Ignoring Gertrude, as she was wont to do, she spoke directly to Gerard. “Hey, sweetie, I’m about to head home, but I wanted to let you know that I just heard from my boss that they’re finishing up the surgery ahead of you. It shouldn’t be too much longer now.”

“Oh. Okay,” Gerard said quietly. “Thank you.”

“No problem. You just relax. Everything’s going to be fine.” The nurse smiled. “I’ll try to pop in and make sure you’re doing okay when I come back tonight, depending on where you are.” With that, she turned and left.

Gertrude snorted. “I’m so thankful my cloak of invisibility is working properly.”

“You said yourself you weren’t on my paperwork.” Gerard twisted the sheet in his hands, just slightly. “And I’m awake. They don’t need to tell you anything.”

His eyes flicked up to the equipment beside his bed, scanning the screen. Gertrude studied it herself. She was no medical expert, but…

…but the Ceaseless Watcher gleefully rushed in to fill in the details about heart rate, pulse, oxygen level, and temperature. She knew the exact percentages of the components in his intravenous drip and exactly what would be of concern to his doctor and what would be dismissed as unimportant. In truth, the majority of it was of no more than secondary concern.

“Is there something worrying you?” she asked. This time she couldn’t stop the slight impatience creeping into her tone.

“No,” Gerard replied, with the immediacy and flicker in his eyes that made a lie of that even if she hadn’t had supernatural assistance.

“Gerard.” Gertrude could feel the tingle of the Beholding on her tongue, and it made her all the more perturbed. Gerard’s childish worries were worth neither the expenditure of energy nor the courtesy of gentleness.

“Okay, no, I just…” Gerard swallowed hard. He seemed to have some trouble with the motion. “Have you…heard from Tim?”

Oh. Of course. Gertrude had even thought, after contacting Tim about Gerard’s medical emergency, that he would be upset and stressed if Tim didn’t arrive before he went into surgery. She just somehow hadn’t expected him to actually start worrying until they told him they were actually ready for him, rather than just a vague it shouldn’t be too much longer now. Especially since she’d only vaguely told him that Tim would be arriving…

In the morning. Hence why Gerard had asked, every time he awoke, what time it was. He was trying to ask, as subtly as he could, if Tim would be arriving soon.

She pressed her lips together tightly for a moment so her irritation at herself wouldn’t bleed out into what she was saying. “His plane landed…” She glanced at her phone. Still no reply from Tim since she had sent him their information. “Thirty-two minutes ago. He’s on his way now.”

Gerard exhaled heavily, then coughed hard for several moments. Once he could draw breath again, he leaned back against the headboard with a groan. “I’d kill for a cigarette right now.”

“I doubt they’ll allow it,” Gertrude said dryly. She, too, was itching for a nicotine fix, but at least she wasn’t going in for surgery. As soon as Tim arrived, she would be able to step outside for a smoke. Possibly to leave as well, but most likely she would wait.

“Thanks for staying,” Gerard said softly. “Dunno if I said that yet.”

“You didn’t. But you’re welcome.” Gertrude didn’t bother pointing out how much work she had to do or how much of a sacrifice it was for her to remain. Gerard knew all that. He also knew that she wouldn’t have made that sacrifice for just anyone.

She hoped he knew that it meant that she did care for him, in her own way.

In fact, Tim arrived exactly nine minutes later, rushing through the curtain just as the baby-faced day nurse, his scrubs still so new that they crackled with dye, was disconnecting all the equipment Gerard was hooked into. The relief on Gerard’s face was palpable. “Took you long enough.”

“Yeah, sorry, the teleportation circle was out of service.” Tim looked at the nurse, whose eyes were huge, and then at the white-coated doctor just behind him. “Did I miss it?”

“We’re just getting ready to take him back, Mr. Keay,” the doctor said. Tim didn’t correct him. “You can follow us as far as the door, but then you’ll have to wait outside.”

Gertrude assumed she was included in that; if she wasn’t, nobody stopped her. She trailed after Tim, who kept pace with Gerard the entire way. At last they reached a T-intersection with a sign on the wall. An arrow pointing left read SURGERY; one pointing right read WAITING AREA. Obviously, this was where they would part.

Gerard, who had been silent and almost drowsy—he must have been tired, since he had barely slept in the last twenty-four hours—suddenly reached out and touched Tim’s hand. “Winter.”

Tim frowned. “What?”

“It’s—I’ve been thinking about it. Winter. The first movement, the allegro, but all of it really.”

Gertrude didn’t understand, nor did she understand the grin that split Tim’s face even as the sudden fear flared in his eyes, but she kept her mouth shut as he said, “I’ll give it a listen, then.” He squeezed Gerard’s fingers lightly, then bent over and kissed his forehead. “Play nice. I’ll see you when you’re done.”

“Yeah.” Gerard managed a shaky, tentative smile in reply, then fell back against the gurney. The nurse wheeled him towards the door to the surgery. Tim watched silently for a long moment, then turned and headed for the waiting room.

Gertrude started to follow, then stopped. She really needed a cigarette; it had been a long night and a long day before, and she was itching for the nicotine fix. Tim was there and waiting. She could step outside for a few minutes and probably be back before the anesthesia had even taken effect.

Or…theoretically, she could leave. After all, Tim had arrived, which meant Gerard was no longer alone. They both had her number. She could, in theory, take her bag and go on to Pittsburgh as she’d planned. She could continue on her journey, while they…

While they what?

She pushed the thought out of her head, or at least to the back of her mind, long enough to focus on memorizing the route out of the hospital.

It took her longer than she had expected to find somewhere to light up; unsurprisingly, there were regulations against smoking within a certain distance of the hospital, but it hadn’t occurred to her that the sheer glut of medical centers in the area would mean she would need to walk several blocks before she was free of the judgmental red circles with crosses. Finally, she stopped on a street corner, tapped a slender cigarette out of her pack, and flicked her lighter. The crackle as the leaves caught, and a moment later, the soothing scents of tobacco and menthol curling into her nostrils, calmed the itch and put a balm her fraying nerves.

There were probably better ways to do that, but hell, at this point, if the cigarettes hadn’t killed her yet they weren’t likely to. Then, too—she smiled grimly to herself as she drew on the cigarette—there were enough things that wanted her dead that would be furious if something as innocuous as emphysema was her undoing in the end that it was almost worth the attempt. Anyway, smoking hadn’t caused Gerard’s illness.

She leaned against the signpost on the corner, blew out a puff of smoke, and watched it spiral up to join the clouds overhead. Now that she had time, she tried to put her thoughts in order.

Facts. Logic. Look at the situation without emotion, without sentiment. It was something she was ordinarily quite good at, but for some reason, she was having trouble this time. She was getting soft in her old age, that’s what it was.

Logic reminded her that if she was truly viewing this situation from an unemotional standpoint, she wouldn’t have bothered to contact Tim. The sensible thing to do would have been to get Gerard his treatment, get out the door, and get moving. She had, after all, left the Archives virtually unguarded, and there was no way to alert Leitner that she had done so. Since he knew about Tim, he would be down in the tunnels—which she also hadn’t mentioned to Gerard or Tim—and assuming everything was fine. Tim should be there, not here. Logically.

Except…Gertrude had to stop herself from grinding the end of the cigarette into pulp. Except Gerard needed him, whether he would admit it or not. Except that she would lose Tim’s respect, to say nothing of his trust, if she kept something like this from him. Except there was no way she would have the patience to wait for Gerard to recover enough from brain surgery that he could leave the hospital, never mind travel. She Knew that it would be several days before he was well enough to leave the hospital and that it would be six weeks before he could safely fly—the minimum suggestion was seven to ten days, but hospitals tended to suggest the full six weeks, and she didn’t want to risk pushing him too far, not when she’d gone to all this effort to help him.

Damn and blast.

So. As she saw it, she had two choices. She could leave Tim and Gerard behind in Chicago while she continued her search, then contact them to catch up with her whenever it was safe to do so and hope like hell Elias didn’t get into the Archives in her absence…or she could leave Tim and Gerard behind in Chicago, fly back to London herself, and leave them to continue the search.

Neither of those options were particularly palatable, but one was definitely easier to stomach than the other. And the more she thought about it, the more sense it made. After all, wasn’t that what she had assistants for? She’d taken Tim into her confidence, at least as much as she took anyone else in. He knew as much as she had at his age—maybe more. And Gerard was Eric’s boy, so he was sensible…but he was also Mary’s son, and he wasn’t defenseless. They would be all right.

And it would keep them out from underfoot for a bit. She could call them home when—if—things got bad.

Gertrude finished her cigarette, flicked it into a nearby ashcan, and headed back to the hospital. Since she still wore the visitor’s pass they had printed out for her that morning, it was no trouble at all to get past the desk and back to the waiting room.

It seemed odd to have so many people there on a Tuesday afternoon, but then again, medical emergencies didn’t precisely wait until after normal business hours. Gertrude paused in the doorway and scanned the room. Partly she was scanning for potential statements—not that she expected much, but the fear of the survivor, the unharmed, was often sweeter than the fear of the actual physical victim—but mostly she was looking for Tim. It didn’t take long, even in the crowd. He had claimed a spot in the corner, directly under the television, which seemed to be playing some sort of home improvement show, and sat with his head bowed, staring at his hands, which were laced together between his knees. She edged her way across the room to join him.

The moment she sat down, he stirred. He leaned further forward, reached into his bag, and withdrew a folder, which he handed to her without making eye contact. “Brought your lunch.”

Gertrude, who had been in the act of taking the folder, blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

“The statements. You get energy from them, right?” Tim shrugged, still not looking at her. “I’ve seen you. You start getting tired in the afternoons, you grab a statement and a cup of tea and head into your office. You always look a lot perkier when you come out, and it’s sure as hell not the tea. I know you didn’t bring any with you, but I kind of got the impression you were picking statements up as you went. But if you’ve been here with Gerry since last night, I reckoned you might be running low.”

Slowly, Gertrude pulled the folder into her lap and opened it. Three separate statements, if the plastic clips holding them together were any indication, sat in its covers, the top one yellow and fragile with age. She hadn’t thought she was that obvious.

“Thank you,” she said. Convention dictated a reciprocation of some kind, she felt, so she asked, “How are you holding up?”

Tim was silent for several moments, staring at his hands. Finally, he asked in a low voice, “Is he going to be okay?”

Guilt stabbed at Gertrude’s stomach for a moment. “I can’t Know the future, Tim.”

“I’m not asking the Archivist.” Tim looked up at her for the first time since he had arrived. “I’m asking you.”

Gertrude took in the pinkness of Tim’s eyes, the hollows in his cheeks, the tight lacing of his fingers. He was too open, too vulnerable, and she was too tired and drained to stop the Ceaseless Watcher from letting her Know—about the way his throat had closed up momentarily when she had told him Gerard was ill, about the way he’d sat upright and rigid and willed the plane to go faster, damn it, faster, about the way he’d nearly broken down when the receptionist couldn’t find Gerard’s name at first, thinking he was too late. About how much he had already lost in his life, and what he feared would happen to him if he lost any more.

“He will be fine,” she said, with all the certainty she could muster. “He’s young, and healthy apart from this…well, and the smoking. We caught it before it was too far gone to correct.” She patted Tim’s arm in a perfunctory, awkward fashion. “And you’re here.”

Tim managed a smile. “I’m not exactly a trained doctor.”

“No, but now Gerard knows you’re waiting for him. He was…quite anxious that you weren’t here. Hopefully now he’ll be able to relax, and let the treatment actually work.” Gertrude fished her reading glasses out of her pocket and perched them on the end of her nose. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to read this statement.”

“Go ahead.” Tim pulled out a set of earbuds and popped them into his ears, then plugged them into his phone. A moment later he had called up one of those video sites and was scrolling for something.

Gertrude turned her attention to the statement and began to read it aloud. She kept her voice low, and nobody seemed to notice—especially as doctors periodically came out and called for one person or another. Tim seemed fully absorbed in whatever he was watching on his phone, so she allowed herself to sink into the statement. It was old, but nasty, and while she wasn’t particularly interested in the Flesh she could at least see why Tim had brought it to her. It had taken place some way to the west of where they currently were, but nevertheless it was American. She could almost feel the very ground beneath her rising up to meet the statement, the blood and fear that had soaked into the soil of the place singing out to welcome its errant brethren home.

Which was unusually fanciful for her, and patently ridiculous. But she felt it nonetheless.

A few answers filtered in as she lowered the last page to her lap. Sarah Carlisle had not died, not then; she had been found half-frozen by a nearby Cheyenne tribe and taken in. One of the members of the tribe, though his title in their tongue had been different, had been an Archivist, and though Sarah had believed the Cheyenne could not understand her, the Eye had granted him the ability to interpret her words—my husband’s corpse begged me to eat it—and he had led an expedition to the cave, where he had encountered the Avatar of the Flesh that dwelt there.

As much as she wished the Ceaseless Watcher would leave her be, she would admit to a grim satisfaction at the knowledge that that long-deceased Archivist’s tactics had not been so very different to her own. At least she was following in a grand tradition of sorts.

Tim had been right, although she wished he wasn’t. She felt much better after that. She turned to study him just as he sighed, removed his earbuds, and pocketed his phone. “That’s him, all right,” he mumbled.

“The Winter allegro?” Gertrude asked.

Tim started. “Hey. Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“You didn’t. I was finished. Were you listening to the allegro from Winter?”

“Well, the whole thing really, but yeah, that’s what I was listening to.”

“I must admit, it doesn’t seem like it would be something Gerard would listen to,” Gertrude said, tucking the statement in the back of the folder and closing it. “Unless it’s also the name of a heavy metal album. Why did he ask you to listen to it?”

Tim managed a small smile. “I asked him if he were a piece of music, what would he be.”

Gertrude gave him a disapproving look. “I thought I told you not to contact him.”

“I didn’t. I asked him that before you left. It was what we were talking about at the pub when you called.” Tim glanced at the clock on the wall. “Jesus, it’s only been an hour. Feels like it’s been forever.”

Gertrude, too, glanced at the clock. “I don’t imagine it will be much longer.”

Tim shook his head. “Craniotomies take anywhere from three to five hours. And considering they made the decision to do the surgery right away instead of scheduling it for a few weeks out when he hasn’t had a cigarette, it’s probably bad enough that they thought the risks of tobacco use on surgery are better than the risk of waiting, so it’s probably going to take a little longer. We won’t hear anything until early evening.”

Dismay and annoyance mingled in Gertrude’s mind. She had hoped to be on the road that day…and, all right, she still could, but two to four more hours had not been in her plan. Still…she would put up with it. It would still mean she had spent no more than twenty-four hours in the hospital, and she could at least make the next train out of Chicago.

It was another hour before it occurred to her to be surprised at herself for not even considering the possibility of just leaving then and there.

People came and went, responding to doctors’ summons or settling in to wait or taking small children who couldn’t sit still any longer to stretch their legs or rushing in to find out how’s it going. Tim coerced Gertrude into playing a simple pen and paper game she remembered from her childhood but hadn’t played in ages, meaning she got thoroughly trounced three times in a row before she recalled the strategy and started out-maneuvering him. She was just about to suggest he consider closing his eyes for a few minutes when the door opened once again and a vaguely familiar man stepped out.

“Who’s here for Gerard Keay?” he called softly. Like most Americans, he mispronounced the first name.

Tim got to his feet so fast Gertrude was almost surprised the sudden change in altitude didn’t make him dizzy. She rose at a more reasonable pace and followed him as he went to speak to the surgeon. She could feel the anxiety rolling off him, but one look at the doctor’s expression and she knew he needn’t worry.

“How is he?” Tim asked as soon as he was in range.

“Doing amazingly well. He got here just in time.” The neurosurgeon smiled. “It was a very large tumor, and it appears to be growing rapidly—I can’t think how he wouldn’t have noticed it before otherwise.” Gertrude kept her face blank with effort. “But we were able to get all of it, as far as we can tell.”

Tim swallowed. “Can I see him? Can I be there when he wakes up?”

“He’s awake now. We had to keep him alert for the surgery so that we could ask him questions, to be certain the removal didn’t affect memory or movement. But he passed with flying colors, which means we were been able to remove it without loss of function. We’re taking him to intensive care for the night, just as a precaution, but he’ll be able to go to a regular room in the morning. And you can stay with him, of course. Just give us twenty minutes to get him settled and we’ll come back for you.”

“Thank you, Dr. Greene.” Tim’s face shone with relief.

Dr. Greene smiled, patted his arm, and headed out the door again. Tim sank to the nearest chair, looking as though a weight had lifted from his shoulders.

Gertrude, too, confessed to a certain amount of relief. She sat down next to Tim. “I told you he would be fine.”

Tim managed a cheeky grin. “Never doubted you for a minute, boss.”

Gertrude smiled back, then got serious. “You have the folio?”

Tim reached into his bag and pulled it out. Gertrude nodded, then reached into her own bag, pulled out a notebook, and handed it to him. “Here. Everything we’ve collected so far. I have a backup copy”—she patted the pocket where her laptop and its various accoutrement rested—“but you’ll need this.”

Hesitantly, Tim took the notebook, then unzipped the folio and tucked it in. “Am I…taking it back to London?”

“No.” Gertrude zipped her bag up and slung it over her shoulder. “Not yet, anyway. Once Gerard is well enough to leave the hospital, and once he’s able to travel, I want the two of you to continue the journey. The next step is Pittsburgh—all the notes are there—and from there, I trust you’ll be able to follow the trail.”

Tim sat up a little straighter at that. “Of the Stranger?”

Gertrude nodded. “I need access to the Archives for at least some things, and if we’re going to tip our hand that you’re helping me to stop the Unknowing, I’d rather you not be directly under Elias’s eye. More to the point, I don’t want him to be aware that you know about all the rituals. You may be safer if he thinks you only know about the Stranger’s. Regardless, head to Pittsburgh and check the Hall of Records. The specifics are in my notebook. Beyond that, I trust you to use your discretion.”

“How long do we have?”

“As long as you need. I’ll call if you need to return. In the meantime, stay in touch.” Gertrude rose. “And be sure to submit your receipts as frequently as you can. I’ll have the Institute reimburse you. Once you’re on the trail, of course. Until you leave for Pittsburgh, you’ll officially be on leave.”

Tim stood, too. “Don’t forget about the fire suppressant system. Elias has been ignoring the stuff I submitted.”

“I won’t.” It likely wouldn’t come to anything, but Gertrude would give it a go. She held out her hand. “Good luck, Tim.”

“Good luck, Gertrude.” Tim shook her hand solemnly. “And…thank you. For everything.”

“Thank you,” Gertrude said, in a rare show of sincerity. “I wouldn’t be able to do this without you.”

She patted his shoulder, shifted the weight of the bag, turned on her heel, and strode out of the hospital. She would head to the Amtrak station, explain the situation, and see if they would move her ticket to tonight. Then, instead of stopping in Pittsburgh, she would continue on to Washington, D.C. and visit the Usher Foundation to see if her files from Pu Songling had arrived. Then she could catch the next flight back to London, and to her Archives.

Tim and Gerard would be fine. They would continue the work abroad, while she continued it at home. It was the optimal strategy.

She just had to hope it was the right one.

[spaghettificationandpretzels]

Writing Resources: Chronic Migraines

Sp's resources for Content Creators Materialist

This is a long post!

Trigger warnings for discussion of chronic migraines. Other authors are more than welcome to add their own points and I will update the link in the masterlist as more is added. Alternatively, send me an anon ask or DM if you want to remain anonymous. I live with this condition every day and it has a serious impact on my life, don't be an ass.

This is a follow to this post I am over the moon at how many people are using/sharing it. Thank you so much!!

Basic facts

If you take anything away from this post, please make it this, migraines are not just really bad headaches. Migraines describe a wide range of neurological issues.

Remission happens, but it is a pipe dream for most people and many people who go into remission end up getting them again. This means that there is no cure, only treatment. Partial remission (less than ten migraines a month) is far more common and is what most people aim for.

Three out of four people who have migraines are AFAB, as the last post states being AFAB makes it much harder to access treatment.

Migraines are a registered disability and cost people/counties millions of dollars a year in treatment.

Miragines run in families but that doesn't mean they can't come from other sources.

There may be no clear cause.

Some people have spots on their brains that show up in MRIs others do not. Not having spots doesn't mean you are lying.

Some migraines mimic strokes.

For some people, nothing works, they have tried everything below and get no relief.

The Migraine

It starts with the prodrome this is the attack phase. Some people get an aura which might mean vision changes or smelling things that aren't there. Some people (myself included) don't get auras this does not mean we are lying.

The attack phase, this is when the pain starts. See symptoms for more information.

Postdrome, this is what happens after. Some people become very hungry, some people get huge bursts of energy, and some people are so tired they can't get out of bed.

Symptoms

Head pain, but not always, silent migraines and/or stomach migraines exist. The pain can be crushing/squeezing, pounding, sharp, burning, stabbing or a mix. Pain is often not isolated to the head and can affect the face, neck and shoulders as well.

Sensitivity to light (this is a huge one of me, I live in the Batcave) it can be so bad during an attack I can't even stand the light of my powerboard.

Sensitivity to sound, some people may find the spinning of a fan unbearable.

Sensitivity to smell. Anything from flowers to strong perfume and food smell can make a person feel very ill.

Sore skin, being touched can hurt.

Aggravation by movement/changing in position. Imagine being worried about getting up to use the bathroom because you know your pain will go from severe to "oh my god I want to die." When I am very bad, I have to spend around five minutes going from lying down, to sitting up to standing.

Tingling and numbness.

Facial drooping.

Nausea and vomiting. I have often said that if it was just pain, I could cope (bullshit) feeling nausea is horrible.

Brain fog. This can be so bad that people can forget very basic things.

Emotional ups and downs, being in pain can be really rough.

Triggers

The heat/cold.

Getting not enough/too much/poor sleep.

Certain foods.

Alcohol

Strong smells, I cannot use public transport without serious planning because most people don't know how strong their perfumes are.

Too much/too little/any exercise or exertion.

Changes in the weather. I used to love the rain, but I had to stop taking a drug due to its side effects, the rain now ruins my day.

Treatment Information/Treatments

A neurologist is the main treatment doctor.

People have to keep headache diaries.

To be diagnosed with a migraine disorder a person has to have more than head pain and/or head pain a certain number of times a month.

For some treatments a person has had to have others fail.

Emgality

Emgality sends people into remission. However, its use is limited because the body devolves antibodies. Imagine finally being pain-free years after of trying, then having something that works fail a year down the line, that's what many Emgality deal with.

Emgality is an auto-injector that goes in just below the skin, the is less body fat you have to more it hurts. My pain ruins my appetite and I'm thin, had it worked for me (it didn't) using it would have been difficult as I found the injection very painful.

Emgality can be very expensive.

There are two initial injections then one, once a month. They need to be kept in the fridge.

Botox

Botox can be very effective, it consists of up to forty injections every 8-12 weeks in the jaw, forehead, scalp neck and shoulder. I don't find these painful. In the case of where I live, the co-pay is every 12 weeks.

It is nothing like the botox you get for wrinkles.

Protocols for getting botox can be very strict, like all other treatments, botox can become ineffective over time. In the case of where I live, you had to either have had 8 days a month with migraines and/or 15 days with head pain.

Cost without a co-pay can be in the thousands.

Continued treatment with a co-pay may mean botox has to be effective after two rounds, it can take up to four for things to really work.

I start feeling it wear off at 9 weeks, which means for three weeks I am back to 5 pain days a week. This is very common and is mentioned in a lot of botox information.

For me the injections feel like being grabbed by tiny little hands.

Many people (myself included) get a post-botox migraine, they are not fun.

For some people botox does nothing or makes them even worse.

Below is the most basic injection map, I and many people I know get more than what is listed. It varies from person to person and often takes multiple rounds to find out what extra sights are helpful.

Preventive Medications

Daily pills that can be anything from anti-depressants to epilepsy medication.

They may work wonders, but side effects can ruin them. These can include, damage to internal organs, serious changes in weight, brain fog so bad you can't function and some drugs cause fetal deformities.

Most people will try a lot of preventive before they find one that works, some people will never find anything.

Daily cannabis can also be a preventative, both CBD and THC.

The list below is the most common

Abortives

These are used in the prodrome or attack phase.

The drugs could be triptans in the form of pills, injections and nasal sprays, muscle relaxants, sleeping pills, antihistamines and opioids and other pain medications including cannabis (both CBD and THC).

Other options.

A dark, comfortable room.

Heat and or cold treatment.

Magnesium injections and fluids.

Hot showers.

Physical therapy.

Dental treatment.

Roll-ons, creams and pain sprays with or without THC and CBD.

Tips on writing

Suggesting things like drinking water, doing yoga, taking xyz out of your diet, getting some sun, going for a walk or seeing a therapist is a really shitty thing to do. If you're doing this in your writing, then try to show it for what it is, an invading experience that happens over and over and over again. It's really nice when someone I know calls a person out on this.

Miragine sufferers often force themselves to function, if your character has a migraine and they have stuff to do, show that it's hard for them. Show that they are angry and distressed and want nothing more than to go home and rest and be out of pain.

Show the desperation that can take place. There are times I would have done anything to get out of pain. I would do whatever I could even if I knew it wasn't going to help. When all you can think about is how much pain you're in you will do anything to make it go away.

Being in pain all the time can make your normal abnormal, I can function fine at pain levels that send some people to the ER. You have no choice but to cope and many people (myself included) grow to dismiss their pain. Putting into words "it doesn't matter that I can't even keep water down or that the light shining through my eyelids makes me want to die, there's shit to be done."

I have cried when people have told me they have believed me, Many people do not want to be looked after, they just want to be acknowledged.

Fiction around someone looking after someone else can be wonderful (it's a part of many of my fics) If you want to write a caretaker fic/screen have the caretaker ask what the person needs, have them do research and show them being an advocate.

Please DM me if you have any questions.