When Ann Johnson was 30 years old in 2005, she had a stroke that paralyzed her and could not talk. However, she can speak again using her brain waves with new experimental technology.. Ann and Implant .Ann Johnson taught math and P.E. at Luther College in Regina when she had the stroke. When it happened, she had an eight-year-old stepson and just had a baby girl..“Overnight, everything was taken from me,” wrote Johnson in a statement on Luther College’s website..Ann had a condition called locked-in syndrome (LIS) after her stroke. .According to the National Institutes of Health, it’s a rare brain problem where a person cannot move but can still move their eyes..At 47, Johnson wrote about her life with LIS in a 2020 psychology class paper. She typed it one letter at a time..“You’re fully cognizant, you have full sensation, all five senses work, but you are locked inside a body where no muscles work,” wrote Johnson. .“I learned to breathe on my own again, I now have full neck movement, my laugh returned, I can cry and read and over the years, my smile has returned, and I am able to wink and say a few words.”.In 2021, Johnson found out about a research study that could help her LIS. She was chosen as one of eight people for a clinical trial. It was done by the University of California, San Francisco’s (UCSF), Neurology and Neurosurgery department and she was the only Canadian participant..“I always knew that my injury was rare, and living in Regina was remote. My kids were young when my stroke happened, and I knew participating in a study would mean leaving them. So, I waited until this summer to volunteer – my kids are now 25 and 17,” said Johnson..On Wednesday, a study published in Nature showed Johnson is the world's first person to speak out loud using decoded brain signals..Johnson has an implant that picks up her brain's signals. Then, a computer program changes those signals into words using artificial intelligence (AI). These words are spoken by a digital avatar that can also show her facial expressions.. Brain Implant .The system turns Johnson's brain signals into text at approximately 80 words per minute. That's faster than her old communication device that used her eye movements to type 14 words per minute. .According to the researchers, the AI program got the words right about 75% of the time..Johnson’s first conversation happened with her husband Bill about a Toronto Blue Jays baseball game..“How are you feeling about the Blue Jays today?” Bill asked..“Anything is possible,” responded Johnson..Jokingly, Bill says his wife does not seem to have much confidence in the Blue Jays..“You are right about that,” responded Johnson..The researchers are seeking permission from U.S. regulators to expand its availability to more people..“Our goal is to restore a full, embodied way of communicating, which is the most natural way for us to talk with others,” said Edward Chang, chair of neurological surgery at UCSF. .“These advancements bring us much closer to making this a real solution for patients.”
