How Bcis Are Transforming Assistive Technologies

AI just gave a paralyzed woman her voice back. In 2016, Ann, a 30-year-old teacher, suffered a stroke that left her unable to speak or move - trapped in her own body with Locked-In Syndrome for almost two decades. But now, thanks to a breakthrough brain-computer interface (BCI), she is communicating again - through a digital avatar. This new AI-powered technology decodes brain signals directly into speech and facial expressions. Here’s how the team at University of California, San Francisco made this breakthrough: 1. Brain signal decoding Researchers implanted 253 microelectrodes on the surface of Ann’s brain, capturing the brain signals that would normally control speech. This allowed her to communicate at 80 words per minute, just by thinking about them. 2. Recreating a natural voice Researchers used a sophisticated AI that synthesized Ann’s voice from a pre-stroke recording - her wedding day speech. This restoration wasn’t just robotic speech generation, it brought back her real voice. 3. Bringing emotion and expression back The team went further by combining speech synthesis with facial animation. A screen displayed Ann’s digital avatar, translating her brain signals into facial expressions, allowing it to smile, frown, and express emotions along with her restored voice. 4. The road to independence The next step in this research was to develop a wireless version of the system that would free Ann (and others like her) from the need for physical connections to a computer. This is life-changing tech that opens new doors for millions of people living with severe paralysis. It is a pivotal moment in the intersection of AI, neuroscience, and healthcare. But there's one concern: accessibility. While this technology is revolutionary, its high costs make it inaccessible for many who need it most. Could AI-powered speech technology be the future of healthcare for those with paralysis? Video credit: UC San Francisco (UCFS) on YouTube. #innovation #ai #technology #healthcare

Brain Implant and AI Let Man with ALS Speak and Sing in Real Time Using His Own Voice: 🧠A brain implant and AI decoder has enabled Casey Harrell, a man with ALS, to speak and sing again using a voice that sounds like his own, with near-zero lag 🧠The system captures brain signals from four implanted electrode arrays as Harrell attempts to speak, decoding them into real-time speech with intonation, emphasis, and emotional nuance, down to interjections like “hmm” and “eww.” 🧠Unlike earlier BCIs that needed users to mime full sentences, this one works continuously, decoding signals every 10 milliseconds. That allows users to interrupt, express emotion, and feel more included in natural conversation 🧠It even lets Harrell modulate pitch to sing basic melodies and change meaning through intonation, like distinguishing a question from a statement or stressing different words in a sentence 🧠The synthetic voice was trained on recordings of Harrell’s real voice before ALS progressed, making the output feel deeply personal and familiar to him. 🧠While listener comprehension is around 60%, the system’s ability to express tone, emotion, and even made-up words marks a major leap beyond monotone speech—and could adapt to other languages, including tonal ones #healthtech #ai

Brain implant technology can help restore movement and a sense of touch to paralyzed persons, preliminary BCI research demo shows. -- 3 years ago, Keith Thomas sustained a neck injury that severed part of his spinal cord, cutting off his brain's line of communication with most of his body. This has left him with virtually no ability to move or feel a sense of touch from below his chest. However, thanks to cutting-edge clinical research from Dr. Chad Bouton's lab at The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, he's regaining some of those lost abilities. 5 brain chips with tiny electrodes were implanted into the part of Keith's brain responsible for motor movements and generating a sense of touch. A computer can analyze these brain signals and sends instructions to muscle stimulators on Keith's arms which allow him to move his arms as he pleases. Similarly, touch sensors on his hands send signals back to his brain implants giving him the ability to feel when someone touches his hand. In effect, this brain-computer interface circumvents his damaged spinal cord opening a new digital line of communication between brain and body. This research is still in its early stages. It appears that Keith is only able to make broad motor movements and can only feel from a few small areas. However, the significance of this cannot be overstated. This research could one day inspire technology that could be life-changing for the hundreds of thousands of people living with severe spinal cord injuries. -------- This story was first covered by TIME on July 28th. The video attached to this post is a super-cut I made from a video that accompanied the story. I encourage you to check out the full video and story here: https://lnkd.in/euJWAbHp #paralysis #sci #braininterface #neurotechnology #research

NEW Brain Implant Helps Voiceless ALS Patient Communicate A milestone in restoring the ability to communicate to people who have lost it, - more than three times as fast as the previous record, - beginning to approach natural conversation speed of ~160 words/min. Study Participant: 68 yo woman with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) a degenerative disease that can eventually cause #paralysis. Study published in Nature: - Two #brain #implants with ~120 electrodes to monitor #neural activity. - Trained an algorithm to recognize her intended words over four months, then - Combined that with a #language model that predicts words based on the context. - Using 125,000-words vocabulary, - system decoded attempted speech at the rate of 62 words per min, - with a 24 percent word-error rate. - Accurate enough to generally get the gist of a sentence. These results show a feasible path forward for restoring rapid communication to people with paralysis who can no longer speak. Nature | August 23, 2023 ------------------------- Francis R. Willett, Erin Kunz, Chaofei Fan, Donald Avansino, Guy Wilson, Eun Young Choi, Foram Kamdar, Matthew Glasser, Leigh H., Shaul Druckmann, Krishna V. Shenoy, Jaimie Henderson  Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Brown University School of Engineering, Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Mass General Hospital Harvard Medical School, Washington University in St. Louis #innovation #technology #future #healthcare #medicine #health #management #startups #clinicalresearch #medtech #healthtech #scienceandtechnology #biotechnology #biotech #engineering #ai #research #science #rehabilitation #stroke #tbi #collaboration #electricalengineering #electrical #neuralnetwork #neuromodulation #personalizedmedicine #neurorehabilitation #braincomputerinterface #artificialintelligence #fda #disability #linkedin #news #precisionmedicine #communication #stanford #harvard #mgh #slp #neuroscience #als #brainstimulation

AI Restores Voice After 18 Years with Assistive Tech Imagine being unable to speak for 18 years, trapped in silence, unable to express your thoughts. In August 2023, UCSF and UC Berkeley developed a BCI enabling a paralyzed woman to speak. By decoding neural signals associated with speech attempts, this innovation transformed her thoughts into synthesized speech. In August 2024, BrainGate unveiled a system translating brain signals to speech with 97% accuracy. This advancement marks a significant leap toward practical applications for individuals with speech impairments caused by ALS, strokes, or other conditions. Why This Matters Empathy Meets Innovation: These breakthroughs restore dignity and connection for those without voice. Future of AI + Neuroscience: Accurate, responsive BCIs hold immense potential to revolutionize healthcare. Inspiring Possibilities: This technology could restore speech, mobility, vision, and transform lives. I see these breakthrough as a call to action for all of us : How can we leverage AI to transform lives and enhance human connection? Let’s keep pushing boundaries, because the intersection of tech and empathy is where true innovation happens. What are your thoughts on the future of AI in healthcare and assistive technology? Let’s discuss it below! AppLogiQ | Soorya Narayanan #applogiq #artificialintelligence #braincomputerinterface #assistivetechnology #aiinnovation #healthcaretech #futureofhealthcare #innovationforchange #makedigitallives