Dr. Michael De Georgia is the author of "History of brain death as death: 1968 to the present," published in the August 2014 issue of Journal of Critical Care [Journal of Critical Care 29 (2014) 673–678].

Since 1968, the concept of brain death has been extensively analyzed, debated, and reworked. Still there remains much misunderstanding and confusion, especially in the general public. In this comprehensive review, Dr. De Georgia traces the evolution of the definition of brain death as death from 1968 to the present, providing background, history and context.

He explains that while brain death has been widely accepted as a determination of death throughout the world, many of the controversies that surround it have not been settled. Some may be rooted in a misconstruction about the history of brain death. The concept evolved as a result of the convergence of several parallel developments in the second half of the 20th century including advances in resuscitation and critical care, research into the underlying physiology of consciousness, and growing concerns about technology, medical futility, and the ethics of end of life care. Organ transplantation also developed in parallel, and though it clearly benefited from a new definition of death, it was not a principal driving force in its creation.

Dr. De Georgia is the Director of the Reinberger Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit at University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio. He also is the Director of the Center for Neurocritical Care and Co-Director of the Cerebrovascular Center of UH's Neurological Institute. He also is professor of neurology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine where he holds the Maxeen Stone and John A. Flower Endowed Chair in Neurology.

Dr. De Georgia is an internationally recognized leader in the field of neurological intensive care, which encompasses stroke, bleeding within and around the brain, head trauma, brain edema, and coma. He is active in research related to lowering the temperature of the brain to protect it after injury and new innovative neuromonitoring approaches in the intensive care unit (such as monitoring blood flow and oxygen levels in the brain) along with the use of “complex systems analysis” tools in the ICU.

Dr. De Georgia is available for interviews. UH Case Medical Center has a high-definition studio which broadcasts via The Switch or Vyvx and is equipped with a state-of-the-art lighting grid, two high-definition cameras, Sony XD high-definition record format and various backdrop options.

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