In an extraordinary leap for medical science and artificial intelligence, a woman who lost her ability to speak 18 years ago due to a brainstem stroke is now able to communicate again.
The miracle wasn’t achieved through traditional medical intervention but rather through a groundbreaking AI-powered system developed by researchers in California.
Ann, the 47-year-old patient, agreed to a surgical procedure that involved implanting a thin, credit card-sized electrode panel onto her brain’s cortex.
This high-tech device captures the brain signals that would normally control her tongue, jaw, larynx, and facial expressions, essentially “reading” her intentions to speak and express emotions.
The captured signals are then processed by an AI system, which translates them into speech and facial expressions displayed through a digital avatar.
This avatar not only communicates what Ann wants to say but does so in her own voice, adding a deeply personal touch to the technological marvel.
Kaylo Littlejohn, a doctoral student at the University of California San Francisco and a lead author on the project, praised Ann’s dedication.
She spent weeks training the AI to understand her unique brain signals, contributing to a vocabulary of over a thousand words that the system can now interpret.
This development not only offers hope to individuals with similar conditions but also marks a significant milestone in the integration of AI into healthcare solutions.
It’s a vivid example of how technology can give a voice to those who have been silenced, changing lives in ways we once thought were the stuff of science fiction.
(Source: Newsbreak)