STREAM: Prototype Development of a Digital Language Identifier

Rebecca Meehan, Manisha Kumari, Qiang Guan, Sanda Katila, Joel Davidson, Nichole Egbert

2022

Abstract

This paper describes the development of a prototype digital language identifier (STREAMTM), designed to help improve health by shortening the time it takes for healthcare professionals and first responders working with non-native speakers to identify a patient’s language so that the correct interpreter can be called, enabling the patient to more quickly get the care they need. The innovation was originally designed to address the needs for health care professionals caring for the emergent Bhutanese and Nepali community of newcomers in Akron, Ohio, USA. Language access support through in person and electronic interpreters continues to improve, however, there remains a need to quickly identify spoken language at points of entry or in emergent situations. We developed and tested a digital prototype solution (Smart Translation Enabling and Aiding Multicultural populations, aka “STREAMTM” tool, patent pending) based on the Nepali language that can be later extended to identify multiple languages. Prototype testing of STREAMTM showed that although the model predicted the correct language better than chance, accuracy needs to be improved. Next steps include refining the model to identify spoken language in a shorter amount of time, adding other languages to the model, and user testing among medical and emergency services professionals.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Meehan R., Kumari M., Guan Q., Katila S., Davidson J. and Egbert N. (2022). STREAM: Prototype Development of a Digital Language Identifier. In Proceedings of the 15th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies (BIOSTEC 2022) - Volume 5: HEALTHINF; ISBN 978-989-758-552-4, SciTePress, pages 664-670. DOI: 10.5220/0010893200003123

in Bibtex Style

@conference{healthinf22,
author={Rebecca Meehan and Manisha Kumari and Qiang Guan and Sanda Katila and Joel Davidson and Nichole Egbert},
title={STREAM: Prototype Development of a Digital Language Identifier},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 15th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies (BIOSTEC 2022) - Volume 5: HEALTHINF},
year={2022},
pages={664-670},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0010893200003123},
isbn={978-989-758-552-4},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 15th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies (BIOSTEC 2022) - Volume 5: HEALTHINF
TI - STREAM: Prototype Development of a Digital Language Identifier
SN - 978-989-758-552-4
AU - Meehan R.
AU - Kumari M.
AU - Guan Q.
AU - Katila S.
AU - Davidson J.
AU - Egbert N.
PY - 2022
SP - 664
EP - 670
DO - 10.5220/0010893200003123
PB - SciTePress