Helping patients of ALS around the world

By Mike Donachie

They thought about turning it into a business.

They could have made millions.

“Screw it,” says lead engineer Javed Gangjee, BESc'08, MEng'12, in his basement in London Ont., when asked about the commercial potential of his work.

The engineer, a Western University grad, is part of an organization that’s giving a voice to people who were trapped in their own bodies.

And it’s open-source. When he’s satisfied with the code, he’ll publish it online so anyone can use it. They just have to help people along the way in return.

“It’s based on the idea that, no matter who you are and what your biological conditions, everyone has the right to speak your mind,” said Gangjee, who’s 28.

It’s led by the SpeakYourMind Foundation. Gangjee is one of just two staff members, working 15 hours a week but donating 30 more hours as a volunteer.

He’s making communications tech for people with neurological injury or disease, like ALS. What he creates tracks the patient’s eye movements to pick out letters and words, giving them a voice.

It’s simple. All it takes is a webcam and the code that Gangjee is developing. Each device is tailored for the individual and the principle is similar to old-fashioned boards of letters and symbols, and other tech that’s already out there.

But here’s the kicker: It only costs $100. These same devices cost at least $5,000 commercially, and can be as much as $15,000. For families who are tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, that’s why it’s life-changing.