ALS patient tweets through brain-computer interface for the first time

Australian 62-year-old amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patient Philip O'Keefe recently became the first person to post a message on social media using only his own thoughts

O'Keefe's technology for sending messages was developed by the brain-computer interface company Synchron, and the device is called the Stentrode brain-computer interface (SBCI): an intravascular brain implant

This tiny (8mm) brain implant is designed to allow people who have lost the ability to speak to communicate using only their thoughts

Like other ALS patients, O'Keefe developed progressive paralysis that left him unable to speak earlier this year

O'Keefe used the account of Synchron CEO Thomas Oakley to tweet his history-making news

O'Keefe expressed hope that the SBCI program in which he is a part will help pave the way for new technologies to regain independence for those who have lost the ability to speak or move

Synchron said it plans to expand SBCI to include developing devices that can be used to diagnose and even treat conditions such as Parkinson's, high blood pressure, epilepsy and even depression

Editor-in-Chief

The concept of brain-computer interface has existed for a long time, but it was not until the 1990s that there were phased results