(NBC NEWS) – In 2005, Ann Johnson suffered a stroke that left her severely paralyzed and unable to speak. She was 30. At best, she could make sounds like “ooh” and “ah,” but her brain was still firing off signals.
Now, in a scientific milestone 18 years after Johnson’s stroke, an experimental technology has translated her brain signals into audible words, enabling her to communicate through a digital avatar.
The technology, developed by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, and the University of California, Berkeley, relies on an implant placed on the surface of Johnson’s brain in regions associated with speech and language.
