Since he was very young, Neil showed artistic sensitivity, studying piano and art. At sixteen, he specialised in art at the Alexander Satorras secondary school in Mataró, where he was allowed to use shades of grey in his assignments.
Two years later, in 2001, he went to Walton's New School of Music in Dublin to continue his piano studies and in the following year he moved to Dartington College of Arts, London.
During his second year at Dartington, he took a course on cybernetics and the senses taught by Adam Montandon. Neil was fascinated and explained his situation to Adam, who felt that his condition could be visually complemented by a cybernetic device that would allow him to perceive colours by hearing them.
This is how the two came to create an electronic device known as the Eyeborg and Neil began to differentiate between colours, opening up for him a new way of perceiving the world. The experience was so positive that the Eyeborg became a part of his body.
In 2004, overcoming administrative resistance, he became the first cyborg with a passport, when the British government allowed him to appear in his passport photo together with the electronic eye, thus recognising his status as a cyborg.