Scientists have developed a device that can convert speech thoughts into spoken words in real time. Although it's still experimental, they hope the brain-computer interface could one day help give a voice to those who can't speak.
Scientists have developed a device that can convert speech thoughts into spoken words in real time. Although it's still experimental, they hope the brain-computer interface could one day help give a voice to those who can't speak.
The device was first tested on a 47-year-old quadriplegic woman who had been unable to speak for 18 years after a stroke. Doctors implanted it in her brain during surgery as part of a clinical trial. It translates her intention to speak into fluent sentences, AP News reports .
A team of scientists from the University of California recorded the brain activity of a woman using electrodes as she silently spoke sentences in her brain. The scientists used a synthesizer they built based on her pre-injury voice to create speech sounds that she could utter. They trained an artificial intelligence model that translates neural activity into sound units.
It works similarly to existing systems used to transcribe meetings or phone calls in real time.
The implant itself is placed in the brain's language center so that it listens, and these signals are converted into speech fragments that make up sentences. According to the scientists, this is a "streaming approach," where each 80-millisecond speech fragment — about half a syllable — is sent to a recorder.
More research is needed before the technology is ready for widespread use, but with “sustained investment,” it could be available to patients within a decade.
