Nuance Celebrates the 100-Year Anniversary of Dictaphone

BURLINGTON, Mass.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--[ Nuance Communications, Inc. ] (NASDAQ: NUAN), a leading supplier of speech solutions, is celebrating the 100-year anniversary of Dictaphone, a technology that has evolved from sound production alongside the invention of the telephone to advanced speech recognition solutions for the healthcare industry. Today, Dictaphone is one of many components that comprise [ Nuance's healthcare business ], which provides speech-enabled clinical documentation and communication solutions to more than 5,000 healthcare provider organizations.

"We are celebrating Dictaphone's 100-year anniversary to remind people of events that have changed our lives over the past century and to educate them on Dictaphone's presence in healthcare today. Bringing sound to the telephone, the lunar landing, in physician practices of all sizes, and introducing speech recognition to electronic medical records are all examples," said John Shagoury, president, Nuance healthcare business. "Dictaphone has been in the middle of many technological landmarks and now is part of the initiative to transition the healthcare industry into a paperless environment. We are thrilled at Nuance's progression into healthcare and with our customers' many achievements through use of our technology. Most importantly, we are excited for what's to come."

Originally known as business communication equipment (letter, message and document dictation), Dictaphone has evolved tremendously over the past 100 years, as demonstrated by its storied timeline:

1881: Alexander Graham Bell invented the first recording device, which was later branded Dictaphone.
1908: The year Dictaphone became a brand was full of firsts;a ball signifying New Year's Day dropped in New York City's Times Square, the 26.2 mile marathon became part of the Olympic Games in London, Henry Ford produced a Model-T automobile and Mother's Day was observed and found a home in the month of May.
1942: In World War II the U.S. government turned to Dictaphone technology to record enemy communication to assist the military in code-breaking.
1963: After the assassination of President Kennedy, Dictaphone technology was used during the swearing-in of Lyndon Johnson aboard the Presidential aircraft.
1969: Man took his first steps on the moon and Dictaphone captured "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind," Neil Armstrong's famous audio from outer space.
1970s-2000s: After several innovations, company changes and acquisitions, Dictaphone found its home in healthcare.
March 2006: Nuance closed its acquisition of Dictaphone commencing its strategic entrance into the healthcare industry.

Now in 2008, Nuance's Healthcare Solutions:

Are expected to save the healthcare industry $1 billion by 2011 through improved clinical documentation processes with advanced technology.
Are used at more than 5,000 hospitals and by more than 400,000 providers.
Automate the communication process of critical, life-threatening test results, speeding patient care in high-priority scenarios.
Provide doctors with decision-support for the ordering of diagnostic imaging exams to ensure patient radiation exposure is minimized and only necessary exams are ordered.
Have evolved the way doctors create patients' medical records beyond the pen and manila folder to speech-enabled electronic medical records (EMR).
Improve patient care – fewer medical errors, more detailed patient records, less waiting time for critical test results, lower doses of radiation and an increase in one-on-one time with doctors.

Nuance's healthcare division plans to improve clinical documentation and communication workflow in all areas of healthcare, an initiative already demonstrated through its work in the radiology and health information management sectors.

Looking Ahead to What's Next:

A culture of medicine that is supported by clinical intelligence at every angle, from exam ordering and test result management to diagnosis and treatment.
Sophisticated, interactive and background speech recognition for streamlined documentation from the moment a patient checks in until the time they are discharged.
Increased human interaction, as physicians spend less time reporting and have more time to spend with patients.
Enhanced patient safety as a result of medical reports that are highly detailed and available in real-time, automated communication of patients' critical findings and increased focus on medically necessary diagnostic exams.

Nuance's healthcare portfolio offers proven, speech-enabled clinical documentation and communication solutions including [ Dragon Medical ] for real-time medical speech recognition within an EMR, the [ eScription on-demand platform ] for computer aided medical transcription (CAMT), the [ Dictaphone Enterprise Speech System on-premise platform ] for integrated transcription workflow and speech recognition, and radiology solutions including [ PowerScribe® for Radiology ], [ RadWhere™ for Radiology ], [ RadPort™ for Radiology ], [ RadCube™ for Radiology ], and [ Veriphy ]™ critical test results management. For more information on all of Nuance's Healthcare solutions please visit: [ http://www.nuance.com/healthcare/ ]

Nuance Communications, Inc.

Nuance (NASDAQ: NUAN) is a leading provider of speech and imaging solutions for businesses and consumers around the world. Its technologies, applications and services make the user experience more compelling by transforming the way people interact with information and how they create, share and use documents. Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance's proven applications and professional services. For more information, please visit [ www.nuance.com ].

Nuance, the Nuance logo, Dictaphone, Dragon, eScription, RadWhere, RadPort, RadCube and Veriphy are trademarks or registered trademarks of Nuance Communications, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other company names or product names may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

The statements in this press release, relating to future plans or future events or services, are forward-looking statements which are subject to specific risks and uncertainties. These could involve particular market trends, competition factors and other risks described in the documents submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The actual results, events and services may vary significantly from the forecasts. The reader is warned not to rely on these forward-looking statements without reservation, since these are simply reflections of the current situation.

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Nuance Celebrates the 100-Year Anniversary of Dictaphone