O’Canada’s CBC News is reporting that a Fredericton-based company (anyone knows where that is?) has created a computerized translation system for health professionals to communicate with patients. According to CBC News, patients can be asked questions “in different languages through the computer, which also allows the patients to see the words on the screen in their own language.”
Here’s how the company describes the workings of their system:
MedBridge also puts the control of what is being said to the patient in the hands of the health professional. The approach is simple: within a certain context or procedure, a statement is selected on the screen and the exact translation (developed with the same context in mind) is spoken in the patient’s language. The health professionals can therefore feel confident that the translations accurately correspond to the intended message…
The MedBridge system uses a uniquely responsive “Click & Say” or “Click & Play” approach. As the health professionals interact with MedBridge in their own language, the system speaks and displays their questions or comments in the patient’s language; the patient can then respond by selecting choices presented in his/her language.
In the case of hearing-impaired or deaf patients, the MedBridge screen simultaneously displays translations in both American Sign Language (ASL) and in text. The ASL window displays ASL interpreters signing in video clips. The patient’s choice of responses or questions is also confirmed in both ASL and text. Furthermore, the system can connect directly to most adaptive hearing equipment.
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