02-07-2025
Watch: Moment Woman With ALS Recovers Voice With AI
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Debbie Lopez lost her voice to a muscle-weakening disease, but with the help of new artificial intelligence (AI) technology, she is speaking to her family again, Monroe Community Hospital (MCH) in Rochester, New York, confirmed to Newsweek.
Why It Matters
Lopez, who has been a patient at MCH since February, was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) in 2019. ALS is a disease that affects the nerve cells in the body, causing the muscles to become weak and can lead to paralysis and loss of voice.
No singular cause has been identified for most causes of ALS, with some research into factors that may be linked, such as heredity, environmental exposures, and diet, among others.
About 30,000 people in the United States are living with ALS, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which notes that tracking the disease can be challenging.
AI technology is rapidly transforming society, reshaping jobs, productivity and advancements across sectors, including medicine.
What to Know
Several years ago, Lopez, 39, started a YouTube channel, Living with Lemons, to document her health journey, raise awareness, and provide comfort to others going through a similar experience.
The channel has ended up being able to give Lopez her voice back, as speech pathologist Jaime Spencer, who provides care to Lopez at MCH explained, "We were able to get her voice from using her YouTube channel," adding, "and from there they were able to clone anything that she wants to say."
The AI voice, which mirrors Lopez's, can now mimic anything Lopez types, thanks to the content from her YouTube videos and the technology's ability to replicate speech.
MCH shared with Newsweek a video of Lopez breaking into a smile as she hears her voice from the device, saying in what sounds just like her, "Hi, I am Debbie Lopez."
A screen grab of a Monroe Community Hospital video showing Debbie Lopez, a patient with ALS, hearing her voice from AI.
A screen grab of a Monroe Community Hospital video showing Debbie Lopez, a patient with ALS, hearing her voice from AI.
Monroe Community Hospital
Lopez uses an Eyegaze device to control what the AI says, allowing her to direct and select items with her eyes, send messages and surf the web, among other features.
"Cameras on the device track her eye movements and she can look at different parts of her monitor for either letters, words, or popular phrases or presets she has on her communications device," an MCH spokesperson told Newsweek in an email Wednesday.
In the MCH video explaining Lopez's health journey and the use of the AI, Spencer said, "This new software and this new technology has been amazing because it allows patients and individuals to preserve some of the most intimate parts of them and what makes you you, is your voice."
Lopez, through the AI, says in the video, "Even if I can't make a sound, I still have a voice."
Lopez and her team at MCH are working on preserving her voice for her three children and family members by reading and recording some of her favorite children's books.
What Happens Next
Lopez remains in high spirits despite the severity of her disease, saying, "It's broken everyone who loves me and everyone I love, but it hasn't broken me," and adding, "I get to see the best in everyone."
AI is increasingly being used in medical settings, from diagnostics and predictive analytics to assisted surgeries and the development of new treatments.
"ALS can be pretty isolating. Patients lose function of much of their body parts. Anything that helps restore a sense of normalcy is a huge benefit," a MCH spokesperson told Newsweek.
