Dragon Systems Enhances System For Automatic Transcription of Speech From Hand-Held Recorder for Medical Professionals.

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 23, 1999--

Hand-Held Medical Solution Bundles Recorder, Award-Winning Speech

Recognition Software, Comprehensive Vocabulary and Extensive

Customization Features To Boost Mobile Medical Professionals'

Productivity

A new version of the Dragon NaturallySpeaking(TM) Mobile Medical Suite, a continuous speech recognition solution designed specifically for medical professionals, was introduced here today at the HIMMS tradeshow by Dragon Systems, Inc., of Newton, Mass.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Mobile Medical Suite is a complete package for medical professionals that includes the award-winning Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech recognition software, the Dragon NaturallyMobile(TM) pocket-sized recorder, a comprehensive medical vocabulary, and a copy of Corel(R) WordPerfect(R) Suite 8. The Dragon NaturallySpeaking software supports Corel WordPerfect and Microsoft(R) Word. New features in Dragon NaturallySpeaking Mobile Medical Suite include the Dragon NaturallyMobile digital recorder with built-in microphone and speaker with advanced file capabilities, powerful voice editing and formatting capabilities within most third party applications, hands-free features for navigating and controlling Windows, and support for Microsoft SAPI 4.0.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Mobile Medical Suite enables medical professionals to create patient records, medical reports, notes, correspondence, and other documents at their PC or by speaking into the hand-held recorder. When the user is ready, the recordings can be downloaded to a PC using a high-speed serial link and the linking software provided with the product. Dragon NaturallySpeaking software then transcribes the text.

"Now medical professionals have the ability to create patient notes and records on the fly and they can reduce transcription costs and turn-around time for most of their dictation. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate continuous speech solutions for medical professionals in a package that makes it easy for them to use," said Roger Matus, Vice President of North American Marketing at Dragon Systems.

DRAGON NATURALLYSPEAKING MOBILE MEDICAL SUITE COMPONENTS

The Dragon NaturallyMobile recorder optimized for speech recognition quality. It incorporates a high quality built-in microphone that can be used in most settings. The recording is stored digitally in a special compressed format that, unlike some other compression formats, contains all of the information needed for accurate transcription. The recorder weighs under four ounces (excluding batteries), is slim and compact enough to fit easily in a shirt pocket and can be held comfortably in the palm of a hand. The Dragon NaturallyMobile recorder has the flexibility of a professional dictation device, including a built-in speaker, multiple customizable folders, easy scrolling between recordings, time/date stamping, and a back lit LCD display.

The recorder can hold an unlimited amount of speech using the interchangeable memory cards. The recorder holds 40 minutes of dictation with its built-in memory. An additional 20, 40 or 80 minutes can be added with removable memory cards of 2MB, 4MB, or 8MB respectively. The memory cards, which are the same type used in many digital camera devices, are conveniently and widely available at camera and consumer electronic stores.

AVAILABILITY, SYSTEMS REQUIREMENTS AND PRICING

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Mobile Medical Suite supports Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0. It requires a minimum of a Pentium(R) 133 with 32 MB RAM and 48 MB RAM for Windows NT. 120 MB hard disk space is required for installation. For best results, a Pentium 200 is recommended with 64 MB of RAM; this allows users to take advantage of BestMatch technology for improved accuracy and performance. Requirements may vary depending on the features being used.

The product is expected to ship worldwide in mid-February with a suggested list price of $1,095 US, and will be available through Dragon's VAR channel. Existing Dragon NaturallySpeaking Medical Suite users can upgrade to the new medical mobile solution for an SRP of $199. For information on upgrades, Dragon Systems' customers should contact their reseller or visit the Dragon web site at http://www.dragonsys.com.

DRAGON NATURALLYSPEAKING MOBILE MEDICAL SUITE DESKTOP FEATURES

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--   MEDICAL VOCABULARY -- Dragon NaturallySpeaking Mobile Medical
     Suite includes a vocabulary of more than 230,000 words, including
     an extensive collection of medical terms, phrases and
     abbreviations, as well as information on how the terms are used
     within typical medical documents. This specialized vocabulary
     helps medical professionals achieve higher accuracy more quickly,
     reducing the effort required to adapt the software for use in
     specialized medical practice areas.
--   ENHANCED SELECT-AND-SAY FUNCTIONALITY -- In addition to support
     for Microsoft Word(R) 97, Corel(R) WordPerfect(R) 8, and the
     Dragon NaturallySpeaking window, the latest version expands the
     availability of Select-and-Say functionality to a variety of
     third party applications, including GoldMine, Microsoft WordPad,
     Microsoft Outlook, and Microsoft Chat 2.0 and 2.5. Select-and-Say
     enables users to select words or phrases that they wish to edit
     simply by saying "Select" <the word or phrase> and then saying
     the new word or phrase.
--   CONTROL WINDOWS DESKTOP BY VOICE -- Users can open Windows
     applications from the start menu, launch applications from the
     desktop, navigate menu items in virtually all Windows
     applications, including Microsoft Office 97, and switch between
     Windows applications by voice.
--   COREL WORDPERFECT AND MICROSOFT WORD SUPPORT -- The Dragon
     NaturalWord(TM) feature allows users to work within Corel
     WordPerfect 8 or Microsoft Word 97 completely by voice. Users can
     dictate text directly into their documents, then use the "Select
     and Say" feature to make fast, easy edits and corrections.
     Intuitive, built-in voice commands such as "Bold That" improves
     productivity by automating common tasks.
--   COREL WORDPERFECT SUITE 8 -- A licensed copy of Corel WordPerfect
     Suite 8 is included.
--   SAPI 4.0 SUPPORT -- Support for industry standard API ensures
     that Dragon NaturallySpeaking will seamlessly integrate with
     future speech-enabled Windows applications that support this
     standard.
--   NATURAL LANGUAGE COMMANDS -- Easy to use and easy to remember
     commands can be issued in a natural way to edit and format text
     within Microsoft Word 97. For example, a user can say "Make a
     five by two table," or many other variations.
--   WORKS IN VIRTUALLY ANY WINDOWS APPLICATION -- Users just point
     their mouse and click in any application. Their text
     automatically appears in the text window where the cursor is. It
     works well with Microsoft Word(R), Corel WordPerfect(R), Lotus
     Notes(R), WordPro(R), e-mail packages, Internet chat packages and
     more.
--   COMMAND WIZARD -- The New Command Wizard utilizing the built-in
     macro scripting language makes it easy for end-users or Dragon
     Certified Resellers to create simple, intuitive voice commands to
     insert boilerplate text, automate common tasks, or integrate
     speech into existing applications or templates.
--   MULTIPLE TOPIC SUPPORT -- Allows users to store custom words and
     language usage information on several topics to increase the
     accuracy of dictation within each topic.
--   MULTIPLE USER SUPPORT -- More than one user may create their own
     voice files and store them on the computer.
--   HIGHLY ACCURATE -- BestMatch(TM) technology reduces errors for
     most users by an additional 25% over previous versions. The
     accuracy in previous versions of Dragon NaturallySpeaking was
     already reported to be from 95% to 98% in independent reviews by
     industry publications.
--   LARGE ACTIVE VOCABULARY -- The active vocabulary comes with more
     than 72,000 words that are ready to use. Over 230,000 words are
     on disk and can be automatically retrieved by the system. Each
     word contains spelling, pronunciation, and language usage
     information for high accuracy. Users can customize the vocabulary
     with up to 54,000 new words, proper names, and specialized terms.
--   IMPROVED FORMATTING -- Users can dictate numbers, e-mail
     addresses, and more using natural language. A user could say
     "Sixty-seven dollars and twenty-six cents," and see $67.26 appear
     on the screen.
--   SPEECH PLAYBACK -- Recorded speech playback allows users to
     listen to what they said for easier proofreading and editing. The
     text-to-speech feature allows users to have words that appear on
     the screen read aloud to them using high quality text-to-speech
     from ELAN Informatique(TM).
--   TRUE CONTINUOUS SPEECH -- Users speak naturally and at a normal
     pace without the need to pause between words. Dragon
     NaturallySpeaking was the first product on the market that
     recognized large vocabulary general-purpose continuous speech.

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Dragon Systems, Inc., is a worldwide leader in PC speech recognition. Dragon Systems develops and markets high-performance, cost-effective speech and language technology that, in multiple world languages (including American English, British English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish), enable users to create text, issue commands, enter and access data simply by speaking. The company also licenses technology worldwide through developers, distributors, resellers, OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and ISVs (Integrated Software Vendors). Dragon Systems ports its technology across multiple operating systems and hardware platforms -- from hand-held devices and PCs to workstations, and is pursuing leading-edge research and development projects for computer and telecommunications applications. Since introducing Dragon NaturallySpeaking, the first large vocabulary continuous speech recognition system able to create general purpose text, in 1997, the Company has received over 70 major industry awards worldwide.

Founded in 1982, Dragon Systems is headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts; its Dragon Systems UK Ltd. subsidiary, which is focused on speech recognition for telephony and high-noise environments, is based in Cheltenham, England; Dragon Systems GmbH is located in Munich, Germany, Dragon Systems also has offices in France. Dragon Systems can be found on the world wide web at: www.dragonsys.com or www.naturalspeech.com.

Dragon Systems, and the Dragon Systems logo are registered trademarks, NaturallySpeaking and The Natural Speech Company are trademarks of Dragon Systems, Inc. All other trademarks are of their respective holders.