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The findings have raised the prospect of a simple and inexpensive ‘sniff test’ that could help doctors to accurately diagnose and determine treatment plans for patients with disorders of consciousness. As explained in the paper, our sense of smell is a very basic mechanism which relies on structures deep within the brain. The brain automatically changes the way we sniff in response to different smells - for example, when presented with an unpleasant smell we automatically take shorter, shallower breaths. In healthy humans the sniff-response happens in both waking and sleeping states of consciousness.

Demelza, 42, sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI), among other multiple injuries, as a pedestrian in an horrific road accident in 2016 when she was hit by a car and it rolled over, crushing her. The first responder arrived on the scene within a minute of a 999 call to find her trapped beneath the vehicle, her heart already in cardiac arrest. It took three minutes for nearby residents to help retrieve her from under the car and then, reportedly, a further five to eight minutes to get her heart started again.

STEPS Rehabilitation has told NR Times of its struggle to have a client tested for the deadly disease - which transpired to be positive - before they were released back to the facility.

The resident was admitted to hospital with symptoms of the deadly virus last month.

The hospital wanted to discharge him back to the centre, in Sheffield, less than 24 hours after admission on the basis that it was not in the client’s best interest to stay in hospital.

However, STEPS - a residential and day neuro-rehab facility - has told of its struggle to secure a COVID-19 test for the resident, despite the obvious risks presented to other clients and staff if they went undiagnosed.

However, for stroke patients, there are many options available to help sustain their recovery at home, several of which make use of the very latest in cutting-edge technology.

The Stroke Awareness Foundation is vocal in its promotion of the adoption of the latest tech, which often also enables users to make vital progress they may not have done without their usual specialist rehab.

Martin was particularly hard to reach. Aggressive and unpredictable in his behaviour after a brain injury, those tasked with working with him were at a loss as to how to help. Nothing seemed to work. But a chance remark that he used to enjoy cycling when he was younger changed his life trajectory and got the gears of his meaningful recovery into motion. He was introduced to Dave Buchan, a specialist cycling coach and mentor, and began to engage in ways the people around him had never imagined possible. From the full-of-anger man he had become after his injury, through the medium of cycling, his behaviour began to change.

Back in 2000, the world was a very different place, particularly in terms of technology. Many of the high-tech innovations we now accept as standard were not yet launched and healthcare remained one of the most traditional markets around. Yet into this climate, Hocoma launched the prototype of its pioneering Lokomat, a robotic medical device which provides repetitive and highly physiological gait training to patients, enabling even some of the most impaired to learn to walk again.

Personality changes are sometimes referred to as neurobehavioural disability (ND), especially when associated with social difficulties. The concept of ND involves impairments of numerous aspects of functioning including the abilities to self- monitor and self-regulate, to control frustration, anger and aggression, to tolerate delay in gratification, and to self-motivate. These impairments can lead to a sense of being overwhelmed when facing situations requiring control and management of internal impulses or coping with social situations or tasks.

Cognitive problems arising from brain injury are common, frequently persistent, usually disabling and sometimes hidden. They include impairments of attention, memory and executive functioning. The keystones of treatment comprise cognitive rehabilitation together with adaptive processes and technology. In some cases cognitive problems improve following treatment with cognition-enhancing drugs. Treatment response to cognitive enhancing drugs can be very difficult to predict given the multiple ways by which the brain can be damaged and the different levels and places at which damage can occur.

Recent advances in neuroimaging and neuroscience mean we are now able to better understand how music and auditory stimulation are processed in the brain. To date, research has shown that nothing else stimulates so many areas of the brain simultaneously, as music. This makes it a particularly unique tool for rehabilitation as new neural networks can be built around areas damaged by disease or injury. This reinforces the strong evidence-base for using music to improve client outcomes, assist with rehabilitation and support adaptation to injury. It is this principle on which standardised clinical techniques within Neurologic Music Therapy have been researched and developed.

That is according to the British Society of Rehabilitation Medicine, which has set out how the rehab field moves forward after current events. Its paper, Rehabilitation in the wake of Covid-19: A phoenix from the ashes, focuses on the anticipated increased demand for rehab post Covid-19. It explains: “Covid-19 has led to a pandemic that is increasing the burden of disease and disability throughout the world. It has brought many challenges and has caused major disruption to services. But we have also learned some new ways of doing things. As the NHS re-boots, there is an opportunity to rebuild services on a better, more collaborative, model.