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AI-powered device helps with speech

Waerable speach AI
Translate from : AI-drevet enhed hjælper med tale
UCLA engineers have developed a breakthrough technology that can help people with communication problems and that could revolutionize the way we communicate for those with laryngeal cancer or dysfunctional vocal cords.
By Maria
19 mar. 2024 10:16 am
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UCLA engineers have developed a breakthrough technology that could help people with communication problems. This could eventually revolutionize the way we communicate for those undergoing laryngeal cancer surgery or with dysfunctional vocal cords, Lab Manager reported.

It is reported in the journal Nature Communications that such a device, approximately 2.5 x 2.5 cm, is applied to the skin on the outside of the neck and uses the bioelectrical signals from the vocal cord muscles to generate articulate speech with nearly 95% accuracy . Jun Chen and his team designed the wearable device, which is made of a self-powered sensing component and an actuating component, each consisting of silicone and magnetically induced layers.

The sensor, which detects the movement of the vocal cord muscles using magnetoelastic technology, converts them into electrical signals, which are then processed through a machine learning algorithm resulting in speech. The activation supplies the motor with power to convert the signals into the desired speech.

The device is extremely light (7 grams) and only 1.5 mm thick, so it is almost invisible and attached to the neck with biocompatible tape. Unlike the existing solutions, which can be complex or invasive, this non-invasive device is a somewhat more practical tool.

In the testing phase on a healthy test group, the device showed excellent accuracy, correctly matching the vocal cord movements with predetermined phrases. The research team is expected to make further improvements in machine learning to expand the device's vocabulary. This will be followed by trials with people affected by speech disorders, potentially changing the lives of millions of people.


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