Recently, a motor neurone disease patient, Philip O’Keefe has become the first individual to send a tweet to the world using only direct thought, with the help of a microchip implant that gathered his brain signals. Philip O’Keefe is a 62-year-old paralyzed man from Australia with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and which has incapacitated his upper limbs to function. Philip revealed the breakthrough in a Twitter thread. “Hello, world! Short tweet. Monumental progress,” he said.
hello, world! Short tweet. Monumental progress.
— Thomas Oxley (@tomoxl) December 23, 2021
Philip O’Keefe is the First Person to Have a Microchip for Analyzing His Brain Signals
It is reported that a California-based computer firm Synchron’s stentrode brain-computer interface has had Philip O’Keefe as their first patient to receive the implant or in other words, a microchip in his body that analyses his brain alerts and assists to carry out commands.
In these past few days, by accessing the stentrode brain-computer interface (BCI), Philip O’Keefe successfully converted his direct thought to text. Synchron interface has developed the interface, by which patients can carry out tasks on a computer just by utilizing their mind.
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Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) cultivate brain signals, analyze them, and decode them into commands that are relayed to output devices that carry out desired actions. According to the publication, activities like texting, emailing, and shopping online can be accomplished when brain signals are sent via a telemetry unit to a small computer taped to the patient’s chest, which analyzes what movements the individual wants to act on the nearby PC.
Elon Musk’s Neuralink Company is Also Working on the Same Cause
Furthermore, Philip O’Keefe wanted to share his experience of regaining independence with the world and present inspiration for the future. He had the ambition to share his experience of winning back his freedom worldwide and to encourage people for the future. The successful human trial of Philip O’Keefe comes at a time when many corporations are working tirelessly to create the first brain chip – especially Elon Musk’s Neuralink — which has only established its device in a pig.
Source: Geo News
