‘Multifunctional’ brain implant translates speech and gestures in real time
- Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco developed a new brain-computer interface that enables people with severe paralysis to speak and control a personalized virtual avatar simultaneously, according to findings published in Nature Neuroscience.
- Previous technology restored functions like speech or cursor control in isolation, but this system is the first to integrate both verbal and non-verbal communication using a surgically implanted array of 253 electrodes.
- Researcher Samantha Brosler explained that artificial intelligence translates brain activity in real time, allowing two independent decoders so participants can use speech, gestures, or both simultaneously.
- Participants were excited to see the system working in real time, with one laughing as his speech and gestures were successfully decoded together, providing what researchers called "expressive interaction."
- Researchers emphasize that testing in more participants with larger sets of phrases and gestures is required before the technology can be deployed for widespread patient use, as this system remains a proof of concept.
22 Articles
22 Articles
Work opens up the possibility of restoring the natural dynamism of communication in people who have lost their verbal and non-verbal abilities.
‘I have a lot to say’: Brain implant helps a disabled patient speak
Because the system doesn’t require the patient to be connected by a cord, it offers a demonstration of how patients might be able to eventually use the technology in their daily lives.
Brain Implant Translates The Gestures People With Paralysis Can’t Make, Along With Their Silenced Words
In trying to allow people with disabilities to say everything they want, the team have learned that verbal and non-verbal communication aren’t always simple complements for each other.
The finding represents a step forward towards the brain-computer interfaces that allow oral and gestural communication to people who have suffered strokes or neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).Two patients without speech are able to communicate thanks to brain implants and artificial intelligence Expressing and talking is much more than words: a dynamic process in which the entire motor cortex participates. Up…
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