A pair of new experiments helped people with paralysis communicate audibly in close to real time.
Ann Johnson, a participant in Dr. Eddie Chang’s study of speech neuroprostheses, uses a digital link wired to her cortex to speak through an avatar in El Cerrito, Calif., on May 22.In 2005, Ann Johnson suffered a stroke that left her severely paralyzed and unable to speak. She was 30.Now, in a scientific milestone 18 years after Johnson's stroke, an experimental technology has translated her brain signals into audible words, enabling her to communicate through a digital avatar.
The system appears to be significantly faster and more accurate than previous technologies that attempted similar feats, and it allowed Johnson to communicate using a relatively expansive vocabulary. In a feedback survey, Johnson wrote that she was emotional upon hearing the avatar speak in a voice similar to hers.
The technology converted Bennett's speech attempts into words at a rate of 62 words per minute, and it was about 91% accurate when she used a 50-word vocabulary. But the accuracy fell to around 76% when she used a 125,000-word vocabulary — meaning 1 out of every 4 words was wrong.
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