This brain prosthesis allows a woman to speak after 20 years of silence

When it comes to brain implants, it's not just Neuralink which has been progressing lately. Researchers from the University of Berkeley in California have just shown the effectiveness of their method. She allowed a woman who has been unable to speak for 20 years to speak again.

An implant to find the floor

Since 2005, Ann, a 30 -year -old woman can no longer move or speak following a pontic stroke. But in recent years, thanks to the help of a cerebral prosthesis, it can again communicate in a natural and almost real -time way.

An implant in his brain first records the neuronal activity of the sensorimotor of speech cortex. This recording is then broadcast to an audio unit. This, thanks to models of transducers of neural networks and a recording of the woman's voice before her accident, can then transcribe her thoughts into sentences. The video above comes from the study in which Ann participates, where he was asked to read sentences.

A perfectible, but encouraging innovative solution

The team behind the project specifies its main specificity: “We have developed a “continuous” vocal neuroprosthesis which transparently converts short neural activity windows into audible sounds, without waiting for a whole sentence to be attempted.“Enough to simplify the speaking of people with disorders:”Elocution delays of more than a few seconds can disrupt the natural flow of the conversation. It is therefore difficult for paralyzed people to participate in a constructive dialogue, which can lead to a feeling of isolation and frustration.“”

Although the current solution seems slow enough and lack fluidity, researchers promise future improvements for this study, which already remains a real progress in the field.