Translated from German:
According to a company that implants neural computer interfaces in the brain, a man paralyzed by ALS was able to post on social media without muscle movement. According to the user, the learning process is like cycling.
Philip O'Keefe, a 62-year-old Australian who is largely paralyzed by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), was able to communicate his thoughts directly as a text post on social media through an implanted brain-computer interface.
On Thursday, he published an essay in social media, which he had written "only by direct thoughts," the company said sync with .
"No keystrokes or voice required. This tweet was created by thinking," said synchronous CEO Thomas Oxley's Twitter account about the tweet that O'Keefe is said to have written.
According to the company, the "first tweet with a direct flow of thoughts" was generated wirelessly by O'Keefe's brain. After a progressive paralysis from ALS, the man had a brain-computer interface called "Stentrode" inserted last year.
The implant, "designed to allow patients to wirelessly control digital devices through their thoughts," was placed through a jugular vein in the neck to avoid drilling into the skull.
"Now I just have to think about where I want to click on the computer, and I can write e-mails, do banking, shop and send messages to the world on Twitter - or think," the company quoted O'Keefe as saying. According to him, the "amazing" system requires practice, like learning to ride a bike, "but once you get on the bike it becomes natural".
The man is now able to connect with the world despite his extreme paralysis, according to Synchron, and it adds the company plans to use his brain-computer interface in a study of people in the United States next year to develop further.
Article
According to a company that implants neural computer interfaces in the brain, a man paralyzed by ALS was able to post on social media without muscle movement. According to the user, the learning process is like cycling.
Philip O'Keefe, a 62-year-old Australian who is largely paralyzed by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), was able to communicate his thoughts directly as a text post on social media through an implanted brain-computer interface.
On Thursday, he published an essay in social media, which he had written "only by direct thoughts," the company said sync with .
"No keystrokes or voice required. This tweet was created by thinking," said synchronous CEO Thomas Oxley's Twitter account about the tweet that O'Keefe is said to have written.
According to the company, the "first tweet with a direct flow of thoughts" was generated wirelessly by O'Keefe's brain. After a progressive paralysis from ALS, the man had a brain-computer interface called "Stentrode" inserted last year.
The implant, "designed to allow patients to wirelessly control digital devices through their thoughts," was placed through a jugular vein in the neck to avoid drilling into the skull.
"Now I just have to think about where I want to click on the computer, and I can write e-mails, do banking, shop and send messages to the world on Twitter - or think," the company quoted O'Keefe as saying. According to him, the "amazing" system requires practice, like learning to ride a bike, "but once you get on the bike it becomes natural".
The man is now able to connect with the world despite his extreme paralysis, according to Synchron, and it adds the company plans to use his brain-computer interface in a study of people in the United States next year to develop further.
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