From concept to practice: a scoping review of the application of AI to aphasia diagnosis and management

Abstract

Purpose: Aphasia is an acquired communication disability resulting from impairments in language processing following brain injury, most commonly stroke. People with aphasia experience difficulties in all modalities of language that impact their quality of life. Therefore, researchers have investigated the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to deliver innovative solutions in Aphasia management and rehabilitation. Materials and methods: We conducted a scoping review of the use of AI in aphasia research and rehabilitation to explore the evolution of AI applications to aphasia, the progression of technologies and applications. Furthermore, we aimed to identify gaps in the use of AI in Aphasia to highlight the potential areas where AI might add value. We analysed 77 studies to determine the research objectives, the history of AI techniques in Aphasia and their progression over time. Results: Most of the studies focus on automated assessment using AI, with recent studies focusing on AI for therapy and personalised assistive systems. Starting from prototypes and simulations, the use of AI has progressed to include supervised machine learning, unsupervised machine learning, natural language processing, fuzzy rules, and genetic programming. Conclusion: Considerable scope remains to align AI technology with aphasia rehabilitation to empower patient-centred, customised rehabilitation and enhanced self-management.