An MND patient who lost her voice 25 years ago can now speak again after AI rebuilt it from an eight-second VHS clip.
Sarah Ezekiel, 59, from Hendon in London, was left unable to speak or use her hands when motor neurone disease (MND) – a condition that damages the brain and nerves – struck in 2000, aged 34.
For 25 years her children Aviva, 28, and Eric, 25, could only hear their mother through a speech device which, Sarah says, gave her a “robotic” tone.
The breakthrough came when she unearthed an eight-second scratchy VHS clip from the 1990s showing her changing baby Aviva’s nappy.
AI technology was able to use this short recording to give her back her original voice.
Her children say they now feel truly connected to her after hearing her cockney accent for the first time.
Sarah said: “I love having my voice back. I almost cried when I first heard it. It was a very emotional experience.
“I lived in an offline wilderness. The hardest part with living with MND has been losing my speech. I felt like I had lost my identity.
“When I was asked if I had any recordings of my voice before MND, I sent a video where I say one line with people talking in the background. I wasn’t hopeful at all.”
