<p>Scientists are working with Stephen Hawking to test a groundbreaking device to allow them to 'hack' into the brain of the world-famous British physicist, who has been unable to speak for the last 30 years.<br /><br /></p>.<p>70-year-old Hawking has been working with scientists at Standford University of the US who are developing iBrain - a tool which picks up brain waves and communicates them via a computer, the Daily Mail reported.<br /><br />Hawking has been unable to speak for the last 30 years due to the motor neurone disease which is ravaging his body and weakening his muscles.<br /><br />He currently uses a computer to communicate with a robot-like voice, but is losing the ability as his condition is worsening by the day.<br /><br />Hawking was fitted with a black headband which has a series of neurotransmitters inside it and was told to think about scrunching his right hand into a ball.<br /><br />He was able to create a pattern which the researchers hope they can one day convert into letters, words and sentences, the report said.<br /><br />The iBrain has been developed by Philip Low, a professor at the university.<br /><br />It is about the size of a matchbox and is very light so does not weigh down Hawking's head.<br /><br />Professor Low said he hopes that it will be able to monitor him in real time, regardless of what he is doing.<br /><br />"We'd like to find a way to bypass his body, pretty much hack his brain. This is very exciting for us because it allows us to have a window into the brain," Low said.<br /><br />"We're building technology that will allow humanity to have access to the human brain for the first time.<br /><br />"The emergence of such biomarkers opens the possibility to link intended movements to a library of words and convert them into speech, thus providing motor neurone sufferers with communication tools more dependent on the brain than on the body," he said.<br /><br />Low will unveil his latest findings next month at a conference in Cambridge, and Hawking may demonstrate the technology.<br /><br />It could also be used to treat sleep disorders and possibly help to quickly diagnose autism, the report said.</p>
<p>Scientists are working with Stephen Hawking to test a groundbreaking device to allow them to 'hack' into the brain of the world-famous British physicist, who has been unable to speak for the last 30 years.<br /><br /></p>.<p>70-year-old Hawking has been working with scientists at Standford University of the US who are developing iBrain - a tool which picks up brain waves and communicates them via a computer, the Daily Mail reported.<br /><br />Hawking has been unable to speak for the last 30 years due to the motor neurone disease which is ravaging his body and weakening his muscles.<br /><br />He currently uses a computer to communicate with a robot-like voice, but is losing the ability as his condition is worsening by the day.<br /><br />Hawking was fitted with a black headband which has a series of neurotransmitters inside it and was told to think about scrunching his right hand into a ball.<br /><br />He was able to create a pattern which the researchers hope they can one day convert into letters, words and sentences, the report said.<br /><br />The iBrain has been developed by Philip Low, a professor at the university.<br /><br />It is about the size of a matchbox and is very light so does not weigh down Hawking's head.<br /><br />Professor Low said he hopes that it will be able to monitor him in real time, regardless of what he is doing.<br /><br />"We'd like to find a way to bypass his body, pretty much hack his brain. This is very exciting for us because it allows us to have a window into the brain," Low said.<br /><br />"We're building technology that will allow humanity to have access to the human brain for the first time.<br /><br />"The emergence of such biomarkers opens the possibility to link intended movements to a library of words and convert them into speech, thus providing motor neurone sufferers with communication tools more dependent on the brain than on the body," he said.<br /><br />Low will unveil his latest findings next month at a conference in Cambridge, and Hawking may demonstrate the technology.<br /><br />It could also be used to treat sleep disorders and possibly help to quickly diagnose autism, the report said.</p>