Sergey Stavisky | An intracortical brain-computer interface for restoring speech
Foresight Institute’s Neurotech Group
An intracortical brain-computer interface for restoring speech
Bio: Sergey Stavisky received his Sc.B. in Neuroscience from Brown University in 2008, after which he worked as a research engineer in the BrainGate group for two years. Sergey completed his PhD in neurosciences at Stanford University in 2016, where he studied motor cortical control of reaching and developed brain-computer interfaces in a preclinical monkey model in the lab of Prof. Krishna Shenoy. He then completed a postdoctoral training in the Stanford Neural Prosthetics Translational Laboratory, mentored by Profs. Jaimie Henderson and Shenoy. There he worked on BCIs to restore the ability of clinical trial participants with paralysis to speak and control a robotic arm. In 2021 he started his tenure-track position in the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of California, Davis, where he co-directs the UC Davis Neuroprosthetics Lab. His group is currently focused on understanding and restoring speech production and bringing next-generation neural interface technology to human health applications.
Short Abstract: Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) offer a potential treatment for speech-motor paralysis. Devices restore communication are one of the fastest-advanced areas of neurotechnology: five years ago, the state-of-the-art was brain control of a computer cursor to point-and-click type letter by letter, and now we’ve demonstrated a BCI that decodes the attempted speech of a man with ALS into words with 98% accuracy. First I’ll explain how we achieved this “brain-to-text” capability. Then I’ll show our progress towards a more expressive instantaneous “brain-to-voice” BCI. Finally, I’ll introduce an initial foray into higher-order cognitive decoding.
This seminar is part of Foresight's Neurotech Seminar Series. To join future seminars in this program please apply here.
A group of neuroscience researchers, entrepreneurs, and allies advancing beneficial short-term and long-term neurotechnology applications.
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