WHAT IS THE MATADOC?

The Music Therapy Assessment Tool for Awareness in Disorders of Consciousness (MATADOC) is a clinically developed, research driven, and diagnostic assessment designed to evaluate awareness in individuals with prolonged disorders of consciousness (PDOC). The MATADOC is included in the 2020 National Clinical Guidelines from the Royal College of Physicians, reinforcing its importance in PDOC assessment and care planning.

WHAT DOES IT LOOK AT?

Like the SMART, WHIM, and CRS tools, the MATADOC also includes the behavioural domains of arousal, communication, motor skills, and auditory and visual responsiveness. Diagnosis is made using 5 core areas within the principal subscale: responses to visual stimuli, responses to auditory stimuli, awareness of musical stimuli, response to verbal commands, and arousal.

WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT IT?

The distinctive feature of the MATADOC is that its auditory modality element is much more sensitive. This is important because research has shown the auditory modality to be the most sensitive domain for identifying responses indicating awareness in people in a Vegetative State. Brain imaging has also shown that preserved auditory responsiveness may exist in the absence of motor responses. Research highlights music’s role in promoting arousal and attention, reinforcing findings that personally meaningful stimuli elicit the greatest behavioural responses. As a result, patient-preferred music is a standard part of MATADOC sessions.

HOW LONG IS THE MATADOC?

The standard MATADOC assessment spans four sessions over two weeks, each lasting around 15-25 minutes each and conducted at different times of day to mitigate inaccurate assessment of awareness due to issues such as fatigue. Each session begins and ends with a three-minute quiet observation period to establish a response baseline and standardised administration and scoring is used across music-based/related tasks.

CAN THE MATADOC SUPPORT ANYTHING ELSE?

Beyond diagnosis, the MATADOC informs clinical care guidelines and goal-setting. The MATADOC can also be used to inform the creation of personalised Sensory and Activity Programmes to support quality of life, as well as areas such as awareness, attention, interaction, arousal levels, and non-verbal communication.