The U.S. Navy’s Pacific Command and Mobile Technologies have teamed up with Pacific Partnership 2012 to develop medical translation software for use during the event of a natural disaster.

In order to develop the software, researchers from the U.S. Pacific Command and Mobile Technologies are recording actual dialogue between English speaking physicians, Khmer speaking translators and patients.

"The important thing is that we get realistic, relevant dialogue," said Scott Hourin, a U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, Experimentation Center representative.

"We have done this in the past where we created medical scenarios and it works to a certain extent, but coming out here and collecting real dialogue and the local speech is important."

The software they are developing is called Jibbigo and it’s expected to allow for quick translation in the event of a natural disaster in the area. Jibbigo will give a disaster response team the flexibility to use human translators in more important areas.

"It isn't realistic to think it will replace interpreters," said Hourin, "but in a situation where there aren't enough translators, the program could be used at a station like patient registration, where it is simple interaction and low complexity dialogue going on back and forth. You could then potentially take interpreters from there and move them to where they are needed more, for instance with physicians."

According to Hourin similar systems have been used in the past and are still being developed in the Asia-Pacific region.

"We are also testing a system out in Thailand with English and Thai capabilities that is used alongside an interpreter," he said. "The difference is that the interpreter doesn't have to speak English. They are basically there to bridge the cultural divide, whether it be in a steady state environment like Pacific Partnership, or an actual disaster response."

Pacific Partnership, the largest annual humanitarian and civic assistance mission in the Asia-Pacific region, ensures that the international community is better prepared to synchronize and function together as a coordinated force when disaster strikes.

As an integral part of this partnership, the United States Navy shows that it truly is a global force for good.

By Alex Dupont
Marketing Communications Specialist
Language Translation Inc.

See Also

• More about medical document translation
  Professional medical document translation requires a specialization in life sciences and medical terminology.
• More about language interpreting
  Language Interpreting is the process of translating spoken words from one language into another.
• Software Developers Work with PP12, Create Medical Translation Technology
  U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) and Mobile Technologies teamed up with Pacific Partnership 2012 (PP12) Aug. 2, to develop medical translation software for use during the event of a natural disaster.
• More about the U.S. Pacific Command
  U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) and Mobile Technologies teamed up with Pacific Partnership 2012 (PP12) Aug. 2, to develop medical translation software for use during the event of a natural disaster.
• More about Pacific Partnership
  Pacific Partnership, the largest annual humanitarian and civic assistance mission in the Asia-Pacific region, ensures that the international community is better prepared to synchronize and function together as a coordinated force when disaster strikes.