title: Brain-machine interfaces for real-time speech synthesis.
abstract: This paper reports on studies involving brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) that provide near-instantaneous audio feedback from a speech synthesizer to the BMI user. In one study, neural signals recorded by an intracranial electrode implanted in a speech-related region of the left precentral gyrus of a human volunteer suffering from locked-in syndrome were transmitted wirelessly across the scalp and used to drive a formant synthesizer, allowing the user to produce vowels. In a second, pilot study, a neurologically normal user was able to drive the formant synthesizer with imagined movements detected using electroencephalography. Our results support the feasibility of neural prostheses that have the potential to provide near-conversational synthetic speech for individuals with severely impaired speech output.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Speech, Language, & Hearing Sciences and Cognitive & Neural Systems, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA. guenther@bu.edu
authors.forename: Frank H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Guenther
authors.forename: Jonathan S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Brumberg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001676:Biofeedback, Psychology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003143:Communication Devices for People with Disabilities; D003199:Computer Systems; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011782:Quadriplegia / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D013813:Therapy, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014584:User-Computer Interface