Online speech synthesis using a chronically implanted brain-computer interface in an individual with ALS.
Miguel AngrickShiyu LuoQinwan RabbaniDaniel N CandreaSamyak ShahGriffin W MilsapWilliam S AndersonChad R GordonKathryn R RosenblattLora ClawsonNicholas MaragakisFrancesco V TenoreMatthew Stephen FiferHynek HermanskyNick F RamseyNathan E CronePublished in: medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences (2023)
Recent studies have shown that speech can be reconstructed and synthesized using only brain activity recorded with intracranial electrodes, but until now this has only been done using retrospective analyses of recordings from able-bodied patients temporarily implanted with electrodes for epilepsy surgery. Here, we report online synthesis of intelligible words using a chronically implanted brain-computer interface (BCI) in a clinical trial participant (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03567213 ) with dysarthria due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We demonstrate a reliable BCI that synthesizes commands freely chosen and spoken by the user from a vocabulary of 6 keywords originally designed to allow intuitive selection of items on a communication board. Our results show for the first time that a speech-impaired individual with ALS can use a chronically implanted BCI to reliably produce synthesized words that are intelligible to human listeners while preserving the participants voice profile.
Keyphrases
- amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- clinical trial
- end stage renal disease
- resting state
- endothelial cells
- social media
- newly diagnosed
- chronic kidney disease
- white matter
- ejection fraction
- deep learning
- minimally invasive
- prognostic factors
- functional connectivity
- coronary artery bypass
- randomized controlled trial
- carbon nanotubes
- cerebral ischemia
- study protocol
- atrial fibrillation
- machine learning
- phase ii
- double blind
- patient reported
- surgical site infection