Control Bionics was honored to help make a six-year-old’s Make-A-Wish come true. In early May, Control Bionics CTO James Schorey and Regional Consultant Sarah Walker traveled to Florida to present George with a life-changing AAC solution to enable him to play video games. This was an offering his family did not know existed, let alone if it was something George could benefit from. George’s moms expressed their gratitude for the technology and the support they received, sharing that this technology would be “truly life-changing.”
Meet George
George lives in Florida with his moms Anne and Bonni. George has a medical history of a brain tumor and quadriplegia and is nonverbal, preventing him from taking part in most daily activities. George and his moms love gaming together and, like most six-year-old boys, George particularly enjoys strategy and racing games. However, because of his quadriplegia, he is unable to use a traditional game controller or even an adaptive game controller. For George to get to experience the excitement and fun of gaming with his friends and family, his Make-A-Wish was to be able to play video games.
A Wish Come True
To make George’s wish come to life, Control Bionics provided him with two systems, the NeuroNode Trilogy and Cosmos Connect. These two systems were set up for George to have full control of his games just by raising his eyebrows. For the first time, this provided him with the choice of playing his video games either independently or in copilot mode with a parent.
To get George started with a few of his favorite games, James programmed Race with Ryan, Paw Patrol, and Feeding Frenzy to be used with his device. As George gets older and his interests expand, additional games can be added to his device managed with additional Cosmos Connect user interfaces, ensuring his system grows with him.
It was a joy to James and Sarah to travel to George’s home for his wish reveal, allowing them to witness his reaction when he was gifted his life-changing solution. They surprised George after school and spent the entire afternoon with his family, his Wish Coordinator, and his Occupational Therapist. James and Sarah were able to play all three games with George to help him adjust to his new devices. Everyone shared in George’s delight of actively playing his favorite games for the first time instead of just watching.
How the Cosmos Works With The Trilogy
The Cosmos Connect is a small, portable device that turns a single NeuroNode sensor into multiple outputs, allowing up to eight wired outputs and one Bluetooth output. When paired with the NeuroNode sensor, the Cosmos Connect leverages our exclusive application to intuitively interact with a variety of personal control devices, giving the user more independence with a single movement. Users gain the ability to play video games, activate switch toys, dine independently, check text messages, and more, all using a single NeuroNode and the Cosmos Connect.
For George, the Cosmos Connect, controlled by the body-worn NeuroNode, connects to a gaming console, such as an Xbox with its companion Xbox Adaptive Controller (XAC). The XAC helps make gaming more accessible for individuals with limited mobility, as it works with a range of external devices to provide users with full control of their gaming system. The NeuroNode is operated via EMG signals from tiny muscle activations somewhere on the body. These activations (e.g., a finger flex, shoulder shrug, or eyebrow raise) can then be used to control a gaming system.
Learn more about the NeuroNode Trilogy and Cosmos Connect.
