Matt Hampson, ex-England Under-21 rugby player, suffered a spinal injury while training in 2005. When he regained consciousness he was unable to either move or speak – all he could do was move his eyes. It is difficult to imagine the fear, frustration and desperation of not being able to communicate, and it’s at this critical point that a computer that can be operated by eye movement alone would have provided a huge asset – giving Matt a vital means of ‘speaking’ to medical staff, family and carers. read Matt's full story Tens of thousands of people each year suffer a sudden injury or illness that leaves them completely paralysed – unable to move any part of their body other than their eyes. Gaze-contolled technology enables these people to operate a computer for communication, independence, work and leisure. The purpose of the StarGaze pilot project is to loan and support the use of gaze-controlled technology for such people when they need it most – immediately following their personal tragedy. This project will provide these opportunities for others who suddenly find themselves in the position that he was - by the loan of a gaze-controlled computer, with the necessary expertise and support, straight away. The charity aims to purchase three cutting-edge gaze-controlled computers and, when a system is required, the hospitals concerned will contact SpecialEffect, who will collaborate with the hospital team, friends and family to provide the training and support to ensure that the person who needs it has a personalised and fully functioning system as soon as possible. During the loan period of a gaze-controlled computer, it’s confidently anticipated that the quality of life of the person involved will have improved considerably and they will have had the time and support necessary to discover if the technology would be beneficial to them over the longer term. They will have gained the evidence they need to be able to fundraise for themselves or apply for statutory funding. At this point, the SpecialEffect system can be loaned to another person who needs it and the training, support and personalisation process can begin again. Matt feels very strongly that this kind of cutting edge technology is exactly what is needed by people who find themselves in a similarly terrifying situation to the one he found himself in. He says, "Even if you can't have all the technology available immediately, it's when you're there in hospital that you need to know that this technology is out there and this project will do just that." This appeal, for £160k, was formally launched by Matt Hampson and Mick Donegan on the 22nd of January 2008 and currently has £55K donated