Hawking, 70, has been working with scientists at Standford University who are developing the iBrain – a tool which picks up brain waves and communicates them via a computer.

The scientist, who has motor neurone disease and lost the power of speech nearly 30 years ago, currently uses a computer to communicate but is losing the ability as the condition worsens.

But he has been working with Philip Low, a professor at Stanford and inventor of the iBrain, a brain scanner that measures electrical activity.

“We’d like to find a way to bypass his body, pretty much hack his brain,” said Prof Low.

Full story: Scientists developing device to ‘hack’ into brain of Stephen Hawking