《探索新聞》（Discovery News）報導，使用者戴著一個可接收腦電波的頭盔，專注在螢幕上的四個「按鈕」之上，每個按鈕都會對應到一組音符。使用者的腦部會對每個按鈕各發出不同的電波模式，因此只要使用者專注在其中某一個按鈕上，該按鈕就會自動被選取並對應音符。使用者若要完全精準地選取按鈕，要多花上不少時間來練習校準。艾塞克斯大學（University of Essex）的研究顯示，一位閉鎖症候群（locked-in syndrome）患者便練習了兩個小時，之後她便可順利彈奏音樂。
In 1856 The American Telegraph Company purchased the Phelps and Dickerman factory in Troy and placed George Phelps as its Superintendent. Phelps, utilizing his experience with the House and Hughes instruments, continued to conceive improvements to a printing telegraph system and what eventually evolved in 1859 was one of his most notable inventions.
The Phelps Combination Printer or, The American Combination Printer, as it was sometimes called. Although very different from previous printers, it was called The Combination because Phelps took certain features of the House and Hughes printer and then added his own improvements. This printer would become recognized as the most successful type printing telegraph in the world. Phelps used a piano-like keyboard similar to the one on the House printer. It consisted of 28 keys, including a dot and a space key. He retained the improved synchronization concept of the Hughes. He also used his newly invented electro-magnetic governor to obtain higher stable speeds and made provisions for a choice of available power sources.( air, steam, and later electric motor) Soon after its introduction this printer was put to heavy use for nearly twenty years on some of the more important circuits in the East between Boston, Albany, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington . Two leading authorities on telegraph technology in the 19th century had the following to say about this printer. Franklin Pope: " As an example of consummate skill in mechanical design, this apparatus stands unapproached in its department of technology." George Prescott: " The operation of this instrument becomes more and more satisfactory every day, and is looked upon by all who have become familiar with its performances as the best telegraphic apparatus which has yet been produced." Its output was once measured during a eight and a half hour period between New York and Philadelphia. It transmitted 670 commercial length messages during that period and part of the time the instrument sat idle. Some of the instruments showed only minimal wear after printing over 5000 miles of paper. It should also be pointed out that in comparing the efficiency of this printer with conventional Morse transmission, that it typically takes multiple pulses of current to send a character using Morse Code on a circuit. With this printer, a single pulse can produce any character.
