For over 20 years, a paralyzed woman was unable to talk. Now she can talk just by thinking Using AI.

Written By: Aniqa Batool
Last Updated On: September 12, 2023

After nearly 20 years, a stroke victim’s voice has been restored and she starts talking because of advances in neurotechnology. At the age of 30, the woman suffered a brainstem stroke, because of which she became paralyzed and couldn’t speak after that. Her new implant uses artificial intelligence to analyze brain signals and convert them into computerized speech.

Ann Johnson, at the age of 30, suffered a brain stem stroke nearly two decades ago, and though she lived, she remained paralyzed and unable to speak due to a condition known as locked-in syndrome.

Johnson gradually developed the capacity to breathe independently, move her neck, and blink, but her brain still lacks the ability to operate the muscles required for her to give more than a few words after 18 years.

She has become the first patient to successfully employ a developing nanotechnology that synthesizes speech and facial expressions from brain signals, according to the experts behind the experiment.

Researchers from the University of California San Francisco and the University of California Berkeley described their findings in Nature late last month after implanting a thin layer of 253 electrodes on Johnson’s brain and customizing the equipment to decode her brain signals.

According to a University of California San Francisco news article about the breakthrough, Johnson, who has no mental or sensory issues after the stroke, could communicate at roughly 14 words per minute. The old method device can only respond when there is a small head movement. Her computerized persona now speaks over 80 languages thanks to her new implant.

“Our goal is to restore a full, embodied way of communicating, which is the most natural way for us to talk with others,” said Dr. Edward Chang, chair of neurological surgery at the University of California, San Francisco, in the study’s UCSF publication. “These advancements bring us much closer to making this a real solution for patients.”

Chang did not react promptly to Insider’s request for comment.

While the UCSF and UCB researchers say Johnson’s case is a scientific first for employing nanotechnology to allow persons with locked-in syndrome to interact, two researchers from Austria’s Wyss Centre for Bio and Neuroengineering claimed a similar achievement last year.

For Johnson, the rewards of being involved in the UCSF initiative go far beyond simply giving her the opportunity to speak after all these years.