Part 1
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a therapeutic procedure where a small electrical current is passed through the brain, triggering a seizure under general anaesthesia.
Part 2
One Indicator of ECT is major depression.
Part 3
Neuron regeneration in the Hippocampus region of the brain is theorised to be triggered by electrical stimuli.
Scientific Research
During the procedure there is the Psychiatrist administers the ECT, an Anesthesiologist administers the analgesia and monitors the patient, and a nurse helps them when needed.
"For a few minutes, the patient receives a short-acting anaesthetic and a muscle relaxant. During this time, the brain is stimulated for a few seconds with very short electrical impulses via electrodes on the scalp. This causes some of the nerve cells to coordinate their activity, resulting in a generalized seizure of the brain tissue. Due to the muscle relaxant, the body does not participate in the seizure but remains inactive. After about one minute the seizure is terminated autonomously by the brain. Suppose the therapy is applied several times at intervals of days, it leads to a significant improvement or even complete regression of the symptoms in a majority of patients."
- Dr. Michael Grözinger; RWTH Aachen Hospital
Artistic Research
Procedure Set up
The first sketch implemented the patient, the psychiatrist working the taken-from-reference ECT machine, and the anaesthesiologist administering the general sedative.
My advisor suggested at first the machine to be friendlier and less edgy with a casually dressed psychiatrist and to add a female nurse into the story to give a more social outlook. Therefore, I drew the nurse and designed a rounder ECT machine.
Later on, we agreed that the first version of the machine was better suited for the target audience, as the colourful approach was too playful and may come off as condescending. Therefore, I lowered the opacity in most of the drawing and kept key points opaque.
Side Effect Icons:
Layout
Version 1
Version 2
Version 3
The end