‘Speech synthesis’ brain implant helps patients with Lou Gehrig’s disease communicate

[메디컬투데이=최재백 기자] A patient with Lou Gehrig’s disease succeeded in communicating using a brain implant device from ‘Black Rock Neurotech’.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, were able to successfully communicate using a brain implant from Black Rock Neurotech. published recently.

According to research results, a 45-year-old male ALS patient who lost the ability to communicate was able to communicate using a ‘TTS (Text-to-Speech)’ brain implant that converts written text into natural-sounding spoken text.

Before re-implantation, the patient had severe difficulty speaking and could only understand with the help of a carer, and could only speak about 7 words per minute, the compared to an average speaking rate of 160 words per minute in everyday English conversation.

The research team inserted four microelectrodes and 256 intracortical electrodes from Blackrock Neurotech into the patient’s brain and recorded neural activity in brain areas related to language and speech ability.

They said they could learn unfamiliar words very quickly using decoding software and reading them online.

They explained that after two days of using the device, the ALS patient was able to communicate using 125,000 words.

Using the device, the patient said, “I’m very happy to be able to talk to my friends and family again. My daughter, who is now 5 years old, does not remember my voice because she was 2 months old when my symptoms first started. “When I could speak again, my daughter was ashamed at first, but now she is very proud, saying that her father is a robot.

The patient used the device for 16 hours, speaking at a rate of 32 words per minute, and only 2.5% of them used the wrong word.

Medical Today Reporter Jaebaek Choi (jaebaekchoi@mdtoday.co.kr)

[ⓒ 메디컬투데이. 무단전재-재배포 금지]