A groundbreaking technology is bringing hope to people who have lost their ability to speak. For the first time, researchers have created a brain implant that can transform a paralyzed person’s thoughts into speech — almost instantly and with their own voice.
A brain implant turns thoughts into words
Scientists in the U.S. have developed a neuroprosthetic device that captures brain activity and converts it directly into speech in real time. The system is designed for people who are completely unable to speak due to paralysis.
Speech happens almost without delay
Previous technologies had a frustrating delay of several seconds between the person’s intention to speak and the computer voice delivering the sentence. But the new implant reduces that delay to less than a second, making the conversation almost fluid.
The patient’s own voice was recreated
What makes this innovation even more remarkable is that the researchers managed to recreate the patient’s own voice. They used old audio recordings of her speech to train an AI model that mimicked how she sounded before her injury.
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How the device works
The neuroprosthetic is implanted in the area of the brain responsible for planning speech. When the patient tries to speak, the implant picks up signals from neurons and sends them to an external computer, which translates them into audible speech.
AI fills in the missing pieces
The implant cannot “read” thoughts or feelings. Instead, it captures the brain’s intention to move speech muscles — a signal that was previously blocked due to paralysis. Artificial intelligence fills in the gaps to turn those signals into words.
A vocabulary built for communication
To make the system work, researchers trained it using more than 23,000 attempts by the patient to silently mouth specific words and phrases. The vocabulary included over 1,000 general words and 50 essential sentences for daily needs.
A major step toward dynamic conversations
The most important breakthrough in the study is the near real-time communication. For the first time, a person with total speech paralysis could engage in a dynamic conversation without significant delay or effort.
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Risks of brain implants
While promising, the technology is not without risks. Implanting a chip in the brain carries potential dangers, such as infection, bleeding, and scar tissue formation. There is also the theoretical risk of the device being hacked.
Potential beyond speech
Researchers believe this technology could one day help not only people with speech paralysis but also patients affected by strokes, ALS, or Parkinson’s disease. It could even contribute to future solutions for restoring movement and vision.
Still years from everyday use
Although the results are groundbreaking, it may take 5 to 10 years before this type of implant becomes available in hospitals. More studies, safety approvals, and financial investments will be needed before it can change lives at scale.
The article is based on information from Videnskab.dk
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