Scientists have developed a neural implant, which has been able to read the thoughts of a paralyzed man and turn them into written words.
All the patient, known as Pancho, had to do was try to speak, and the system detected his intention, deciphered his thoughts, and turned them into words written on a screen, according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine. quoted by the discoveră.ro website.
The paralyzed man not only managed to communicate clearly without uttering a single word, but researchers were not even sure if Pancho was still able to communicate before this study. The discovery is considered the “Holy Grail” in the field of brain-computer research.
“That region of the brain could have been dormant, and we just didn’t know if he would wake up so he could speak again,” said Edward Chang, the study’s co-author and director of neurological surgery. at the University of California, San Francisco.
The system, imperfect for now
For now, the system remains imperfect. The algorithm that decodes the patient’s thoughts guessed the correct word in about half of the 9,000 attempts. However, that number exploded when Pancho recited sentences that were already written on the screen. In addition, both the individual words and the complete sentences became more and more precise thanks to a self-correction function that was added to the algorithm.
Using technology to talk to reporters, Pancho said the system was “a life-changing experience.” “I just want, I don’t know, to have something good, because the doctors have always told me that I don’t have a chance to get well,” said the patient. “Not being able to communicate with anyone, not being able to have a normal conservation and express yourself in any way, is devastating. It is very difficult to live like this “, added Pancho.
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