Brain Chip Implant Allows Paralysed Man To Directly Tweet His Thoughts

A brain chip recently allowed a paralysed man to Tweet out his thoughts directly. 62-year-old Philip O'Keefe from Australia suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and was recently able to share his thoughts on Twitter directly through a computer chip implanted in his brain.

The brain computer interface that facilitated the Twitter interaction was developed by neurotech startup Synchron.

Thomas Oxley

The Tweet was posted just by thinking. "No need for keystrokes or voices. I created this tweet just by thinking it," the Tweet stated, which was posted onto Synchron CEO Thomas Oxley's Twitter account.

no need for keystrokes or voices. I created this tweet just by thinking it. #helloworldbci

¡ª Thomas Oxley (@tomoxl) December 23, 2021

After the initial Tweet was posted, O'Keefe answered a series of questions on Twitter. In his final Tweet, O'Keefe hoped that "I'm paving way for people to tweet through thoughts."

my hope is that I'm paving the way for people to tweet through thoughts phil

¡ª Thomas Oxley (@tomoxl) December 23, 2021

What is this implant?

O'Keefe received the brain implant in April 2020. The device is called Stentrode and was implanted after his condition had worsened to a point where he wasn't able to undertake any independent activities.

Thomas Oxley

According to The Independent, the brain chip was inserted through the jugular vein to avoid an invasive brain procedure. Since then, O'Keefe has been able to interact with his close ones through e-mail and simple computer-based games like Solitaire.

Also read: Scientists 'Cure' Depression With A Stimulating Brain Implant, Claims Study

A Synchron press quoted O'Keefe as saying the following - "When I first heard about this technology, I knew how much independence it could give back to me."

Describing it like learning how to "ride a bike", O'Keefe believes that "once you're rolling, it becomes natural."

Phillip O¡¯Keefe is a hero who has pioneered the first use of human implanted Brain Computer Interfaces. He is about to do the first BCI tweet. See his story here https://t.co/nYWl6g9rWW or https://t.co/JAvdtmoBJ9 pic.twitter.com/gOhnLEQ0Hi

¡ª Thomas Oxley (@tomoxl) December 22, 2021

It only took four hours for the implant to be used after being inserted. The Tweets were shared by O'Keefe on December 23, 2021.

Also read: Blind Man Can See Again After World's 1st Successful Artificial Corneal Implant

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Citation

Cuthbertson, A. (2021b, December 27). Brain chip allows paralysed man to post first ever ¡®direct-thought¡¯ tweet. The Independent.