The word is out on voice recognition technology. More than a dozen vendors have some type of voice recognition product available for testing at the RSNA technical exhibit hall. Most are modified versions of off-the-shelf technology available at consumer stores like CompUSA, but attendees can examine a few products developed specifically for radiology.
The two leading vendors are PowerScribe from fonix corporation of Salt Lake City and MedSpeak from IBM in Bethesda, MD.
Just before the RSNA meeting began, fonix announced that its stable of PowerScribe customers has expanded to include nine more hospitals across the U.S.
"Our competition isn't MedSpeak, it's conventional dictation and transcription technology," said Peter Durlach, fonix executive vice president.
Nonetheless, he acknowledged that IBM offers a similar radiology product.
"Our advantage is that PowerScribe is extremely flexible," Durlach said.
At one extreme are customers who use the product to completely replace their dictation and transcription services. At the other are those who use it only for limited applications.
"If you want just spend an hour training and then use it for just a few things, that's possible," Durlach said. "We allow our customers to adopt as much of this new technology as they feel comfortable with."
