Specially designed software has enabled a paralyzed woman to create paintings using only her brainwaves.

Specially designed software has enabled a paralyzed woman to create paintings using only her brainwaves.

Her works are being exhibited at a Scottish gallery in a show called Brain on Fire.

The artist, Heide Pfüetzner, was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, also called ALS, in 2007. Since then, she has become dependent upon a round-the-clock ventilator. She said her only means of communication was with her eyes.

That is, until she was introduced to a software program developed by Gtec, a biomedical engineering company.

To activate the program and create her compositions, she dons an EEG-friendly cap and sits in front of two monitors.

One of the screens displays her tool options and the other shows the progress of her work.

The tools flash at different intervals and by focusing on the one she wants and counting its pulses, her brain activity spikes and the tool is engaged.

The former English teacher admitted that although she’s dabbled in art throughout her life, prior to this she’s never been a big fan of using technology.