Paralysed woman able to ‘speak’ through digital avatar in world first

Latest technology uses tiny electrodes on brain surface and is faster than synthesisers which rely on eye tracking

A severely paralysed woman has been able to speak through an avatar using technology that translated her brain signals into speech and facial expressions.

The advance raises hopes that brain-computer-interfaces (BCIs) could be on the brink of transforming the lives of people who have lost the ability to speak due to conditions such as strokes and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).