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Jul 23, 2005

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Speech-recognition technology revisited...

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Dear Friends,

Here are some interesting excerpts, from an article at FCW.COM by
Paul Ferrill. As always, pay attention to the bottom line ;o...

<The computer on the original "Star Trek" TV series set the bar
awfully high for voice recognition. It not only understood human
speech - even slang - but also replied clearly and with
personality. Although earthbound voice-recognition technology is
rapidly improving and is now useful for many office tasks, it has
not yet attained the standard the starship Enterprise set.

Indeed, the technology needs a combination of vastly improved
artificial intelligence technology and a more sophisticated
speech-recognition engine before matching the performance of the
USS Enterprise's system.

The good news is that the latest versions of Dragon
NaturallySpeaking and IBM's ViaVoice do a pretty good job of
figuring out what you're saying. As those products improve, they
have a broader range of uses.

Transcription for the medical and legal fields continues to be one
of the most frequent applications of voice-recognition technology.
Enabling accessibility for users with disabilities runs a close
second. Although most organizations that use a computer-assisted
transcription process won't totally replace manual labor, they
often use employees in quality assurance and editing roles rather
than as professional transcribers.

For this review we looked at Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional
Version 8 and IBM ViaVoice Pro USB Edition Version 10. Both
products come with a high-quality noise-canceling headset from
Andrea Electronics, although they use different models. Dragon
NaturallySpeaking comes with Model 91, while ViaVoice includes
Model 61.>

<In use

Both products instruct you to speak in your normal tone of voice
and at the pace you would typically use. They also encourage you to
pronounce your words clearly and distinctly to help the recognition
process.

You need to become accustomed to watching text appear on the screen
while speaking. Depending on your configuration and how fast you
talk, you could speak an entire sentence before anything shows up
on the screen.

To test the speech-recognition software, I used a second-grade
grammar textbook and read a paragraph with a number of homonyms in
it.

Both programs did a pretty good job of recognizing the difference
between words such as "see" and "sea" using the context of the
sentence. Dragon NaturallySpeaking couldn't seem to understand the
word "homonym" while ViaVoice picked it right up. For other words,
ViaVoice had problems while Dragon NaturallySpeaking got them
right.

If the software misunderstands a word or phrase, you can correct
the mistake so that it won't happen again. ViaVoice uses a
correction pop-up menu activated by selecting the wrong word and
speaking "Correct < text >." The menu then presents a list of
possible replacements. If you find the right word in the list, you
say, "Pick < n >" to select that word. You can also type in the
correct word if the program can't figure it out.

You should remember to add punctuation to your speech when
dictating. Both programs recognize keywords such as "period" to
mean end the sentence and insert a period. Other phrases such as
"new paragraph" instruct the software to end the sentence and start
a new paragraph.

To get the software to recognize a keyword as text, you must speak
the word as part of a sentence without pausing. There's also a
spell mode that lets you spell out license plate numbers or proper
names with multiple capital letters, for example.>

<Bottom line

Don't expect to see "Star Trek"-level speech recognition anytime
soon. Although some users have adopted voice recognition to help
with physical problems, such as carpal tunnel syndrome or other
physical limitations, you won't find a headset or microphone on
most desks.

Curiously, this lack of general acceptance seems to have little to
do with the technology's performance, as I found in reviewing these
two products. Rather, user perception and lack of motivation rank
as the two biggest challenges to widespread adoption.

Many people get along fine with the way they use the computer now
and don't want or need another input device that has some
limitations and takes some customization.>

To read the entire article, go to:
http://www.fcw.com/article89508-07-11-05-Print

Ciao!

Maj (Dr) Amit Chatterjee, SM
Strategist / Founder ~ mailto:amit@...
MT India ~ www.mtindia.org
"The Community of MT Professionals"

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URGENTLY REQUIRED: MTs/Proofers/Editors
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NEWS AND VIEWS :
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1) National Training Program 'The MedQuist Way' Provides
Exceptional Customer Service Efforts

Launched in January 2005, the two-day education program is a
requirement for the entire company. The program, based on adult
learning theory, provides employees with information and techniques
to enhance proficiency in the application of client service
modules. They are taught from the ground up, beginning with basic
concepts of client service to more complex elements of
understanding client behavior and the cost of inadequate service.
Employees become well versed in understanding communication styles
of others and become experts in utilizing a five-step problem
solving methodology on a daily basis.

Upon completion of the training, employees must take and pass a
mandatory follow up examination. Ultimately, the exam ensures
ongoing excellent client service and monitoring for continued
improvement.

MedQuist President Frank Lavelle knows the future of MedQuist rests
in excellent customer service. "We are here to better serve our
customers," Lavalle said. "The training program will give the
company the edge it needs to continue to be the premier supplier of
healthcare documentation and technology solutions through each and
every employee."

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050718/185487.html?.v=1

2) Canadian Agency extends fin'l help to Medical Transcription
Association of the Philippines

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) through the
Private Enterprise Accelerated Resource Linkages or the PEARL 2
project has agreed to provide assistance to the Medical
Transcription Industry Association of the Philippines Inc.
(MTIAPI).

MTIAPI is an association of medication transcription firms, which
was established to provide services and assistance for the
development of the medical transcription industry.

Part of the assistance is providing assistance to members of MTIAPI
for their participation in the AHIMA Convention and Exhibit trade
fair sometime in October this year in San Diego, California.

PEARL2 shall provide P450,000 while the state-owned Center for
International Trade, Expositions and Missions (CITEM) agreed to
provide P720,000 to assist MTIAPI's participation in the trade
fair.

PEARL2 will operate for five years from 2002 to 2007, with a budget
of approximately CN$10 million provided by CIDA.

http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS2005071539404.html

3) Do you really need an office to work?

The IT and internet revolution are enabling a change that could be
potentially revolutionary in the way women could work. The
workplace as a place where people go to work may cease to exist.
Most work could actually get done at home.

One instance is illustrated to exemplify the scope of virtual
working. Take for instance, Spryance, a medical transcription BPO
company which employs medical transcriptionists who work from home.
These companies have a home-based transcription software, which is
a web-based application.

So, what transcriptionists need is just a PC and connectivity. They
can download voice files from the net. The standard Microsoft audio
software is sufficient to listen to the voice files. The
transcriptionist may use a foot pedal to control the voice files.
This kind of work could be done even outside the confines of the
cities.

In fact, when most people work 20-30 hours a week, they spend 40-50
hours at office and 15-20 hours commuting and getting ready for
work. So, for 20-30 hours at work, we spend 55-60 hours.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1176657,curpg-1.cms

4) MedQuist Announces Appointment of John Simmons to its Board of
Directors

MedQuist Inc. announced the appointment of N. John Simmons, Jr. as
an independent member of its board of directors, effective July 15,
2005. With almost 30 years of experience in executive financial
positions, Simmons brings a wealth of financial expertise and
business experience to MedQuist's board. Since December 1998,
Simmons has been president of Quantum Capital Partners, a privately
held venture capital firm.

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050721/phth044.html?.v=15

5) Transcend Services posts second-quarter loss

Transcend Services Inc. went into the red in the second quarter,
dragged down partially by competitive pricing pressure from new and
existing customers, the cost of recruiting and training enough
transcriptionists and compensation expenses related to the
company's reorganization following its acquisition of Medical
Dictation Inc.

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2005/07/18/daily27.html?from_rss=1
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Mediweb Infotech Pvt. Ltd. All cited articles are copyright of
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Thank you for your interest in MT India!

The MTIndia Team
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