Lie-detectors are so 2000-late. One Brooklyn attorney wants to use an fMRI brain scan to get to the bottom of a sexual harassment case, and if it works, it could be a legal milestone. The fMRI measures blood-oxygen levels in the brain, and according to lab studies [PDF] the brain sends more blood to the ventrolateral area of the prefrontal cortex when a person lies. By placing a person's head inside an MRI scanner build with an electrical magnet 10^5 times more powerful than the Earth's magnetic field, scientists can get a 3D image of the brain's blood concentration. Noting that "detecting deception is only an indirect path to the truth through elimination of false leads," the studies have been able to "detect" lies up to 90% of the time. more ›

A Queens woman who waited hours for a brain scan was won a $10.7 million award from a jury. Candida Diego, 71, had fallen down stairs at the pharmacy where she worked as a cashier and cracked her skull. She was taken to NY Hospital Medical Center of Queens, where she waited two hours for a brain scan "less than an hour before she lapsed into a coma in the emergency room," the Daily News reports. Diego has no movement on her left side and uses a wheelchair and her husband had retired but returned to work as a butcher to support her; he added, "She can't do anything for herself. She's very depressed." Their lawyer pointed out the hospital is a "level one trauma center" but didn't respond like one; the hospital will appeal the finding. more ›