After nearly two decades of a brainstem stroke, Ann Johnson is now able to speak using a digital avatar with the help of AI.
From enabling people with paralysis to walk to analysing genetic profiles, AI is making some remarkable strides in the field of medical science. A few months ago, we reported how a 40-year-old man from the Netherlands was able to walk after 12 years with the help of AI. Now, a similar development has stunned scientists, medical professionals, and AI enthusiasts.
Ann Johnson, suffered a brainstem stroke when she was 30 years old. The stroke left her severely paralyzed, the 48-year-old has not been able to utter a word ever since. Now, with artificial intelligence, her life is about to change.
Over 250 electrodes were implanted in Ann’s brain and with the help of a small port connection on her head, these electrodes were linked to a bank of computers. Reportedly, these electrodes covered the area of the brain that is linked to speech processing. They intercepted her brain signals and relayed them to the computers, which later showed an avatar that represented Ann. The avatar was chosen by Ann herself.
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A video of the entire process shows how the avatar is able to speak from what Ann is thinking. This voice is generated using a copy of Ann’s voice that was recorded years ago – a 15-minute toast that she delivered on her wedding day. The avatar seen on the screen also blinks and uses a variety of expressions to make it look more lifelike.
In order to make this work, Ann worked with the team to train the system’s AI algorithm to recognise her unique brain signals for speech. These sessions involved repeating different phrases from a conversational vocabulary with 1,024 words. These words were repeated over and over till the computers recognised the brain activity patterns linked to all the basic sounds of speech.
Describing the procedure, Dr Edward Chang, chairman of neurological surgery at the University of California, San Francisco, told The New York Times, “We’re just trying to restore who people are.”
After she suffered the brainstem stroke, she lost control of all her muscles and was even unable to breathe. According to her, the stroke occurred one afternoon suddenly without any plausible reason. It took years of physical therapy to allow her to move her facial muscles to show laughter or any other expression. She had a 13-month-old daughter, an eight-year-old stepson and was married for 26 years at the time of the incident.
Ann has been assisting researchers at UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley to develop this brain-computer technology that could aid people like her in the future. It will essentially help people like her to communicate effortlessly through a digital avatar.
Source:indianexpress.com