“Scientists at Stanford have built a brain implant that can translate a person’s internal thoughts into spoken words in real time. This system taps into the motor cortex, bypassing the need to attempt actual speech, and even includes a mental ‘password’ that can turn the thought decoding on and off.”
The New York Times adds:
For decades, neuroengineers have dreamed of helping people who have been cut off from the world of language.
A disease like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or A.L.S., weakens the muscles in the airway. A stroke can kill neurons that normally relay commands for speaking. Perhaps, by implanting electrodes, scientists could instead record the brain’s electric activity and translate that into spoken words.
Now a team of researchers has made an important advance toward that goal. Previously they succeeded in decoding the signals produced when people tried to speak. In the new study, published on Thursday in the journal Cell, their computer often made correct guesses when the subjects simply imagined saying words….
The new study is the latest result in a long-running clinical trial, called BrainGate2, that has already seen some remarkable successes. One participant, Casey Harrell, now uses his brain-machine interface to hold conversations with his family and friends.
In 2023, after A.L.S. had made his voice unintelligible, Mr. Harrell agreed to have electrodes implanted in his brain. Surgeons placed four arrays of tiny needles on the left side, in a patch of tissue called the motor cortex. The region becomes active when the brain creates commands for muscles to produce speech.
A computer recorded the electrical activity from the implants as Mr. Harrell attempted to say different words. Over time, with the help of artificial intelligence, the computer accurately predicted almost 6,000 words, with an accuracy of 97.5 percent. It could then synthesize those words using Mr. Harrell’s voice, based on recordings made before he developed A.L.S.
Last year, it was reported that a brain implant recipient can now move a computer mouse just by thinking. “The first human patient implanted with a brain-chip from Neuralink appears to have fully recovered and is able to control a computer mouse using their thoughts,” reported The Guardian.
“Progress is good, and the patient seems to have made a full recovery, with no ill effects that we are aware of. Patient is able to move a mouse around the screen by just thinking,” said Elon Musk, founder of Neuralink. He added that Neuralink was trying to get as many mouse button clicks as possible from the patient. As The Guardian noted,
The firm successfully implanted a chip on its first human patient last month, after receiving approval for human trial recruitment in September.
The study uses a robot to surgically place a brain-computer interface implant in a region of the brain that controls the intention to move, Neuralink has said, adding that the initial goal was to enable people to control a computer cursor or keyboard using their thoughts.
Musk has grand ambitions for Neuralink, saying it would facilitate speedy surgical insertions of its chip devices to treat conditions like obesity, autism, depression and schizophrenia.
The world’s first blood test for brain cancer will likely raise survival rates.
