But there's an electrode in Erik Ramsey's brain, and when his neurons fire, a computer records the pattern. For two years, a research team at Boston University has been decrypting those patterns, working to turn them into speech.

From left, Erik's father, Eddie Ramsey, Jess Bartels (a research technician), Erik Ramsey, Dr. Philip R. Kennedy, and Deanna Felice (another research technician).