Pune-Born US Scientist Leads Breakthrough That Helps ALS Patient Speak Again

In a major breakthrough for neurotechnology, a Pune-born scientist has helped develop a brain-computer interface (BCI) that lets a person with advanced ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) speak again, with real-time, natural-sounding speech, even allowing them to sing.

ALS is a progressive neurological disorder that affects the brain cells controlling muscle movement. As it worsens, many patients lose their ability to speak, even though they can still think clearly and understand everything.

A Project Years in the Making

Dr. Maitreyee Wairagkar, who grew up in Pune and is now a researcher at UC Davis in the US, has been leading this work for the past three years. She studied at Jnana Prabodhini and Fergusson College before moving to the UK for her engineering Master’s and PhD.

At UC Davis’s Neuroprosthetics Lab, she and her team built a brain-to-voice system that turns brain signals into speech in under 25 milliseconds—fast enough to keep pace with natural conversation.

Her work, now published in the journal Nature, also shows what Indian researchers—especially Indian women in science—can achieve with the right support.

How the Technology Works

The system uses 256 tiny electrodes implanted in the part of the brain that controls speech. These pick up signals when the person tries to talk. The signals are decoded in real time into basic speech sounds (called phonemes), along with tone, pitch, and emphasis.

The decoded speech is then converted into audio using a special computer system. This allowed the participant to ask questions, shift tone, and even sing simple melodies.

Earlier BCI devices could only output slow, robotic speech, often one word at a time. This new system offers real-time, expressive voice—something much closer to natural conversation.

A Human Voice Restored

Test listeners were able to understand around 60% of what the participant said using the BCI-generated voice, compared to just 4% from his natural speech.

Dr. David Brandman, the neurosurgeon who implanted the arrays, said the emotional impact of restoring not just speech but a person’s own voice was incredibly powerful.

Dr. Wairagkar, in conversation with Hindustan Times, called the technology “extraordinary,” not just because it works, but because it brings back the human element in conversation.

The study was conducted under the BrainGate2 clinical trial.

What Makes This a Big Deal

This is the first time a BCI has not only decoded words but also prosody—the rhythm and emotional tone in speech. In other words, it’s not just what is said, but how it’s said.

That makes it the closest attempt yet at recreating human conversation directly from brain signals.

It’s a major shift in assistive communication, especially for people living with ALS, brainstem strokes, or locked-in syndrome.

And through Dr. Wairagkar’s leadership, it also puts India at the heart of a global scientific breakthrough.

What’s Next

The results are promising, but the technology is still in early stages. So far, it has only been tested on one ALS patient.

To move forward, researchers plan to test it on more people, including those with speech loss from other causes like stroke.

As trials continue and the system improves, experts believe this innovation could transform how we restore voice and identity for people who are otherwise left voiceless.

(Input From Various Sources)

(Rehash/Pooja Bansal/MSM)