A paralyzed man is able to go to Twitter and post about his life and the remarkable moment that he is able to use social platforms with the help of technology, writing that he did not need keystrokes or voice, only having to think about it to send out a tweet.

The 62-year-old man, identified as Philip O'Keefe, made history by being the first person with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which has left him unable to move his upper limbs and tweet with his mind. O'Keefe was diagnosed with ALS, a form of Motor Neurone Disease, in 2015.

Paralyzed Man's Tweet

However, his life changed on Dec. 23 after he was able to post on Twitter using a technology called the Stentrode brain-computer interface (BCI). While he was speaking about the modern technology that has allowed him to make history, O'Keefe was unable to hide his excitement at what it could bring in the future.

"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," said O'Keefe, Express reported.

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The history-making technology was made by California-based Synchron, a neurovascular bioelectronics medicine company that allows patients to carry out tasks on a computer with only their brains. O'Keefe said that with the help of the interface, he just had to think about the area on the computer he wanted to click on, and it allowed him to send emails, bank, shop, and even message on social media platforms.

O'Keefe took over the Twitter handle of Thomas Oxley, the CEO of Synchron, to share the news about the marvelous new technology using #HelloWorldBCI. The individual's goal with his message was to share his experience of regaining his independence with the world and offer hope for the future for other people suffering from the same condition.

Modern Technology

He said that he had hoped his experience would pave the way for more people to be able to tweet through their thoughts. O'Keefe was given the brain-computer interface in April 2020 after ALS left him unable to engage in work-related or other independent activities, Dailymail reported.

After the Australian's initial tweet, he posted seven more messages on the social media platform when he answered questions from fellow Twitter users who wanted to better understand what was going on. O'Keefe was implanted with the Stentrode device through the jugular vein to avoid invasive brain surgery. The technology has allowed him to reconnect with loved ones and colleagues via email and even enabled him to play simple computer games such as Solitaire.

O'Keefe reportedly took four hours after he was implanted with the device before he could use it or make the input of text on a computer. His Dec. 23 Twitter takeover was mainly used to promote the technology. "These fun holiday tweets are actually an important moment for the field of implantable brain computer interfaces," said Oxley, Independent reported.

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