PHILIPS SPEECH PROCESSING NOW OFFERS SPECIALIZED VOCABULARY FOR SPANISH RADIOLOGY

Philips Speech Processing has launched a specialized vocabulary for speech recognition for the Spanish radiology market.

Vienna, 11 November 2002 -- Philips Speech Processing (PSP), a world leader in speech recognition technology announces today the release of a Spanish radiology ConText (specialized vocabulary). Even before the launch the first orders have been placed, clearly showing the high demand for speech recognition in the Spanish radiology market.

Requests for a Spanish radiology ConText became more and more pressing, indicating that, triggered by our growing customer base in Northern Europe, demand for speech recognition in Spain has quickly caught up with the other European countries. Our global partners, Philips Medical Systems, GE Medical Systems, Agfa Healthcare and Siemens Medical Solutions have helped to prepare the market ", says Marcel Wassink, Managing Director, Philips Speech Processing.

Working closely with hospitals in Spain, the ConText has been developed within a very short time. As it is not possible to capture the way doctors dictate by looking at transcribed radiological reports, members of the ConText development team spent some time in hospitals to ensure that the typical dictation style of Spanish doctors would be reflected in the new ConText.

The Radiology Department at the Virgen del Rocio Hospital in Sevilla is the first University hospital in Spain working with the new ConText in a two-workstation trial installation where a Philips Radiology Information System is installed. Dr. Manuel Medrano, head of the diagnostic departments says: We are very happy that the Spanish ConText is now available. Although we have only been working with the system for a very short time, wa are expecting to substantially improve the throughput and the quality of the report processing as we go along."

About Philips
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is one of the worlds biggest electronics companies and Europes largest, with sales of EUR 32.3 billion in 2001. It is a global leader in color television sets, lighting, electric shavers, medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring, and one-chip TV products. Its 184,000 employees in more than 60 countries are active in the areas of lighting, consumer electronics, domestic appliances, components, semiconductors, and medical systems. Philips is quoted on the NYSE (symbol: PHG), London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and other stock exchanges. News about Philips can be found here: www.news.philips.com.