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Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed Revoice, a wearable smart necklace that helps patients who have suffered from stroke speak naturally again. The device was created to help patients communicate in a more natural way, without surgery or brain implants.
The wearable device is soft and flexible; the textile, is lightweight, comfortable and can be washed like regular clothing. The modest design allows users to not feel like they’re wearing a medical device.
Revoice aims to turn silent or unclear speech movements into clear, full sentences that other people can understand, working in real time, so users can take part in conversations. Revoice uses ultra-sensitive sensors to collect signals from the body. First, they pick up tiny vibrations from the throat muscles when a person mouths words, even if no sound comes out. Second, they measure the person’s heart rate, which can give clues about their emotional state, such as stress or frustration.
The signals collected by the sensors are sent to two artificial intelligence systems. The first AI focuses on speech reconstruction, and it takes the small throat movements from silently mouthed words and figures out what words the person is trying to say. Even if the person can only mouth a few short words, the AI can recognize them.
The second AI looks at emotion and context. It uses heart rate data and simple information like the time of day or the situation to understand how the person might be feeling. For example, a faster heart rate could mean stress or discomfort. This AI helps turn short phrases into full, natural sentences that match the person’s feelings and situation.
A small study with five stroke patients who had dysarthria shows that the device made very few mistakes, with low word and sentence error rates. The researchers add that the participants reported feeling more satisfied and more confident when communicating. The device is still in a prototype phase and will undergo more testing and improvements.