In early 2012, Exit and Philip Nitschke were approached by the lawyers for a British man, Tony Nicklinson, who was suffering from ‘locked-in syndrome’. The lawyers said they were looking for a technology that would help Tony take his own life (thereby breaking no law as suicide is lawful in Britain). Tony’s problem was he could do no more than blink his eye. They said that they had read about Philip’s past assisted dying inventions and that, as someone who crosses the disciplines of experimental physics and medicine, perhaps he had some ideas.
It was clear from the start that it was pretty unlikely that there would be a quick fix for Tony who died in August 2012. But - maybe - a new concept could help others in the future.