Philip O’Keefe, 62, took to Twitter to tweet about the remarkable moment in technology. Mr O’Keefe wrote: “No need for keystrokes or voices. I created this tweet just by thinking it. #helloworldbci” The history-maker suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), leaving him unable to move his upper limbs.
In 2015, Mr O’Keefe was diagnosed with ALS, a form of Motor Neurone Disease.
But on December 23, he was able to tweet using the Stentrode brain computer interface (BCI).
Speaking about the advance in technology, Mr O’Keefe could not hide his excitement at the potential it can bring in the future.
Mr O’Keefe said: “When I first heard about this technology, I knew how much independence it could give back to me.
“The system is astonishing, it’s like learning to ride a bike – it takes practice, but once you’re rolling, it becomes natural.
“Now, I just think about where on the computer I want to click, and I can email, bank, shop, and now message the world via Twitter.”
The 62-year-old used the handle of Synchron CEO, Thomas Oxley, to post his tweet.
Additionally, Mr O’Keefe used the hashtag #HelloWorldBCI.
In his closing statement, he spoke of his hope to shape the future to come.
He said: “My hope is that I’m paving the way for people to tweet through thoughts.”
Mr Oxley was full of praise for the technology and how far advanced it was.
He said: “These fun holiday tweets are actually an important moment for the field of implantable brain computer interfaces.
“They highlight the connection, hope and freedom that BCIs give to people like Phil who have had so much of their functional independence taken away due to debilitating paralysis.
“We look forward to advancing our brain computer interface, Stentrode, in the first US in-human study next year.”
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