Assistive Technologies

In the House of Councillors election of July 2019 two new Diet members were elected who each have severe physical disabilities. One is an Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) patient and the other has Cerebral Palsy. Both are barely able to move their bodies and require large electric wheelchairs to get about. The assistance of a carer is also necessary. In particular, the ALS patient is dependent on an artificial respirator and is even unable to speak.

First things first: what is TTS? TTS or Text-to-Speech technology converts text into spoken speech. If you know Siri or those handy voice GPS directions on smartphones, then congratulations! Since 1000 AD, humans have strived to create synthetic speech, but it didn't enter the mainstream until the mid 1970s – early 1980s when computer operating systems began implementing it. Walt Tetschner, leader of the group that produced DECtalk in 1983, explains that while the voice wasn't perfect, it was still natural sounding and was used by companies such as MCI and Mtel (two-way paging).

Every end user is a customer, and the quality of the customer journey is everything, regardless of whether the objective is purchasing a product or service or engaging in content fruition. End users can be website visitors, application, device, service, and machine users, online learners or teachers, and more. Text to speech allows content owners to respond to the different needs and desires of each user in terms of how they interact with the content.

The view from France: "France is a paradise for tech startups: world class engineers, reasonable costs, engaged teams, inspiring environment. The scene here is bursting with activity, especially regarding healthcare, which is incredibly stimulating." "The market is tough, with users mostly risk-averse leading to slow adoption. Raising our Series A was most difficult. Once you have onboard professional investors, it's easier. "In five to ten years the cost will go down to the price of a small car.

With so much debate around the ethical use of technology, news like this certainly provides hope for the future. I personally believe technology will provide the biggest breakthroughs in the Healthcare industry and this is just another example of that happening. A 30-year-old Frenchman named Thibault, who was paralyzed from the shoulders down was able to walk in the controlled environment of a lab in an exoskeleton suit. For someone who hasn't been able to walk for the four two years due to a spinal injury, imagine the emotions he must have gone through when he took that first small step. Earlier, I had written about a couple of other mind-reading devices already in the making.

GRENOBLE, FRANCE – The French tetraplegic man who has been able to walk again using a pioneering four-limb robotic system, or exoskeleton, said walking was a major feat for him after being immobile for years. The French scientists behind the system, which was publicly unveiled last week, use a system of sensors implanted near the brain that send signals to the robotic system, moving the patient's legs and arms. Speaking to media on Monday in the French city of Grenoble, the 28-year-old patient, who was identified only by his first name, Thibault, said he had to re-educate to use his brain when he started to try the whole-body exoskeleton. "As I hadn't moved for two years I had to re-learn to use my brain," he said. "At the beginning, walking was very difficult. Now I can stand up for two hours in the exoskeleton and I can do walking cycles for a very long time," he also said.

A paralyzed man was able to walk using a mind-controlled robotic suit, French researchers report. The 30-year-old man, identified only as Thibault, moved all four of his paralyzed limbs using an exoskeleton controlled by his brain. Thibault said walking in the suit was like being the "first man on the moon," according to the BBC. While his movements were far from perfect, researchers believe the suit could one day improve patients' quality of life. So far, Thibault has only only tested it in the lab at Clinatec and the University of Grenoble in France.

A French man paralysed in a nightclub accident has walked again thanks to a brain-controlled exoskeleton, providing hope to tetraplegics seeking to regain movement. The patient trained for months, harnessing his brain signals to control a computer-simulated avatar to perform basic movements before using the robot device to walk. Scientists described the trial results as a breakthrough. Doctors who conducted the trial said though the device was years away from being publicly available, it had the potential to improve patients' quality of life and autonomy. The patient, identified only as Thibault, 28, from Lyon, said the technology had given him a new lease of life.

With a sliding ceiling harness for safety and to help with balance, the patient walked up and down a laboratory at the University of Grenoble. "I felt like I was the first man on the Moon," he said on Thursday. "I didn't move for two years and I had forgotten what it was like to stand. "I forgot I was taller than a lot of people in the room and it was very impressive." Until now, much of the research into improving the mobility of paralysed people has focussed on electrical stimulation of muscles, using machine-brain interfaces.

PARIS – A French man paralyzed in a night club accident can walk again thanks to a brain-controlled exoskeleton in what scientists said Wednesday was a breakthrough providing hope to quadriplegics seeking to regain movement. The patient trained for months, harnessing his brain signals to control a computer-simulated avatar to perform basic movements before using the robot device to walk. Doctors who conducted the trial cautioned that the device is years away from being publicly available but stressed that it had "the potential to improve patients' quality of life and autonomy." The man involved, identified only as Thibault, a 28-year-old from Lyon, said the technology had given him a new lease of life. Four years ago that life changed forever when he fell 12 meters (40 feet) from a balcony while on a night out, severing his spinal chord and leaving him paralyzed from the shoulders down.