Think and say without moving your mouth

2009/01/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Medikuntza
• Softwarea

Using a voice synthesizer, researchers at Boston University have managed to convert the vowels intended by a person who cannot move his muscles. First of all, the researchers have stated that the brain activity of this person is the same as that of people without mobility problems. They demonstrated this using RMIf and also identified images of three specific vowels.

Electrodes were then prepared to be inserted into areas related to brain language. To avoid rejection problems and become well anchored, the electrodes were coated with substances that help the neurons grow. The signals collected by the electrodes were taken to a computer program developed for fifteen years and from there to the voice synthesizer. Thus, the vowels thought by that person became sounds.

The next step is to identify and decode the remaining vowels, as well as consonants, and over time researchers expect the program to have the ability to know complete sentences. It would certainly be a breakthrough for people with severe paralysis, which would be much faster and simpler than the systems used so far. Among the systems currently used, the best known are eye tracking.