Researchers at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom have demonstrated a novel brain-computer interface system capable of identifying covert awareness in patients suffering from prolonged disorders of consciousness and locked-in syndrome. Published in Communications Medicine, the study outlines a structured, multi-session diagnostic framework that leverages wearable electroencephalography headsets to detect purposeful neural activity that traditional bedside assessments consistently miss. The technology operates by recording electrical brain signals while patients mentally simulate specific motor actions, such as lifting a weight with one hand or both feet. Because conventional behavioral evaluations rely on observable movement or command compliance, they frequently misdiagnose up to forty percent of minimally conscious individuals as entirely unaware. The Bath researchers engineered a progressive protocol to overcome this limitation. Over multiple sessions, participants undergo repeated mental training paired with immediate auditory neurofeedback. This feedback loop allows patients to refine their mental strategies, strengthening and stabilizing their brainwave patterns in a manner analogous to learning a physical skill. Following successful training, the system advances to staged questioning, where distinct imagined movements correspond to affirmative or negative responses. This capability was validated across a cohort of forty-two participants, aged seventeen to seventy-three, recruited from National Health Service and Irish clinical facilities. The results confirmed that structured repetition significantly enhances detection accuracy and patient engagement compared to single-session evaluations. Lead author Dr. Naomi du Bois and senior author Professor Damien Coyle emphasize that this multi-session architecture transforms brain-computer interface applications from experimental trials into robust clinical tools. By supplementing traditional neurological assessments with trainable neural signatures, the framework provides clinicians with a more reliable method for diagnosing hidden consciousness and tailoring rehabilitation pathways. Furthermore, the system portable design allows deployment in standard hospital wards, long-term care facilities, or domestic environments. Ultimately, this advancement establishes a viable pathway toward enabling basic, non-vocal communication for individuals previously unable to express their cognitive state, marking a significant operational step forward in neurotechnology and patient diagnostics.