A 17-year-old Egyptian inventor, who has created a system allowing paralyzed people to operate a computer keyboard using only their eye movement, says he feels threatened in his home country and has been forced to try to start a new life in the United States.

Abdallah Assem had faced charges of setting a police care ablaze, but authorities in Egypt allowed him to attend the Los Angeles-based Intel International Science and Engineering Fair to receive an award for his invention.

Fearing his return to Cairo would end of his career, he is now planning to seek asylum in the US.

Al Jazeera Rob Reynolds reports from Los Angeles.