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When a musician suffered brain damage, she could experience the happiness of playing music again with the help of brain-reading technology, reports the Telegraph.

It happened when she was 50. Rosemary Johnson was a gifted musician but she underwent a tragic car accident that deprived her of her skills to speak and move freely. It was only after 27 years that Rosemary could harness the "brain-computer music interfacing" technology created by Plymouth University and the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability in London.

"It was really very moving," said Eduardo Miranda, professor and researcher at Plymouth University. "The first time we tried with Rosemary, we were in tears. We could feel the joy coming from her at being able to make music. It was perfect because she can read music very well and make a very informed choice."

She could focus on images on the screen, and then composed music played aloud by accompanying musicians. They "sight read her choices in real time", according to Science Alert.

"It's not yet possible to read thoughts, but we can train people to use brain signals to control things," added Miranda. "The great achievement of this project is that it is possible to perform music without being able to actually move. She is essentially controlling another musician to play it for her."