"The moment Casey Harrell heard his voice again in 2023 was an instant 50 years in the making. Struggling with paralysis caused by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Harrell feared he would never communicate with his daughter again until research pioneered by California universities gave his voice back. When he spoke using a revolutionary brain-computer interface developed at the UC Davis Neuroprosthetics Lab, his own voice once stolen by disease brought Casey, his family and researchers to tears of joy."
"The breakthrough technology instantly decodes brain signals, transforming intent to speak into Casey's digitized voice, but the effort was anything but instantaneous. It was the culmination of decades of painstaking work in American research university labs a relentless pursuit to unravel the workings of the brain to restore communication. Advances like these, made possible through generations of federally funded university research, are now at risk due to funding cuts."
UC Davis developed a brain-computer interface that decoded neural signals to reproduce the intended speech of Casey Harrell, an ALS patient who had lost his ability to speak. The device transformed brain activity into a digitized version of his own voice, restoring communication and emotional connection with family. The breakthrough built on decades of foundational research at California universities and NSF-funded labs that mapped how the brain produces and processes speech. Generations of federally funded university research enabled the advance. Ongoing cuts to research funding threaten future innovations and the ability to develop life-changing medical technologies.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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