Augmented and Alternative Communication (AAC) Com-munication with Control Bionics’ James Schorey

Health Innovation Matters

Aneel chats with James Schorey, Chief Technology Officer at Control Bionics, an assistive technology device company that enables people with communication challenges to participate more fully in daily life. The company’s augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) offerings helps people with a range of conditions to find their “voice.” Inspired by Stephen Hawking, Control Bionics' Trilogy product line is the only AAC product to harnesses three modalities — touch, eye, and NeuroNode control — giving users the ultimate, personalized opportunity to express themselves. Hawking was instrumental in the eventual downsizing a key component of the technology —making it more user friendly, notes Schorey. Control Bionics helps a wide variety of clients, including veterans with ALS, quadriplegics, and those with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The technology is approved by FDA and is often reimbursable. The technology involves interactions between the client’s body and a computer and is of enormous assistance to caregivers, adds Schorey..