Transeuro
Medical Translation With Augmented Intelligence

Medical translation plays a crucial role in facilitating the seamless exchange of vital medical information across linguistic boundaries. It enables effective communication between all stakeholders in the healthcare continuum.

Acknowledging its ever-growing importance in the world of healthcare, transeuro, empowered by its 113-year-old history, has built a legacy rooted in the pursuit of utmost precision in medical translation. It focuses on German-Japanese, German English, and English-Japanese translation for pharmaceutical and medical device documents.

Born out of the translation department of an esteemed German patent law firm, transeuro’s team comprises more than 30 seasoned translators with a profound understanding of pharmaceuticals, chemicals and advanced technologies, like AI. Harnessing the combined power of human and artificial intelligence, the team distills complex medical knowledge clearly and comprehensively to embody the highest quality of medical translation.

“A winning trifecta of our longstanding reputation, expertise in the German language, and proficiency in AI sets us apart in the industry,” says Yuichi Inokuchi, president of transeuro.

A Journey Across Ages

transeuro’s inception is deeply rooted in the growth of the German patent law firm mentioned before, a company that symbolizes the history of German lawyers and patent attorneys successfully working in Japan.

In the aftermath of World War I, Germany witnessed a whirlwind of technological innovations, setting the stage for a surge in patent-related projects in Japan. This is when German translators, a rarity in Japan, found a home at the above firm, which had established strong ties with the German Embassy and played a pivotal role in nearly all of Germany’s patent-related transactions in Japan during that era. In 2014, the company’s trajectory took a remarkable turn.

Inokuchi, then running a private HR consulting company with other legal offices, was offered the role of HR manager at that firm. Tasked with revitalizing the HR team, he soon found himself drawn toward the management of the translation department. But with each passing year, Inokuchi noticed how it became more evident that human translation was on a declining trajectory.

Driven by a deep commitment to preserving the accumulated wisdom of generations, he embarked on a mission to create an in-house AI translation engine. This is when transeuro received a call from the renowned AI translation engine manufacturer, SYSTRAN. In a collaborative effort, it began to chart a transformative course for the future of medical translation.

The Melting Pot of Man and Machine

transeuro’s approach to managing a project is a distinctive blend of time-honored expertise and cutting edge innovation. It unfolds in multiple steps, each aimed at ensuring top-notch quality in every translation project.

In the initial phase, native speakers, with the help of the AI-powered engine, translate all the materials. Trained on a century of accumulated patent translation data, the engine possesses an unparalleled understanding of language nuances, dialects and idiomatic expressions, allowing the transeuro team to produce more contextually accurate translations.

However, it remains steadfast in recognizing the irreplaceable value of human oversight. Aware that AI can go astray without that supervision, the involvement of proofreaders and a translation manager is paramount in any project at transeuro.

All translated material is subject to scrupulous proofreading by specialist translators. These linguistic experts wield their proficiency in the broader spectrum of anguage and translation, meticulously refining the text for clarity, coherence, and adherence to grammatical and stylistic conventions.

The translation manager then precisely checks each document, creating a dual assurance mechanism that ensures the AI-generated content is finely tuned and fully aligned with the highest quality standards.

Equal emphasis is placed on training transeuro’s proprietary AI engine to continuously push the boundaries of quality and reliability.

“While many AI translation engines are trained on a wide array of publicly available information, the distinctiveness of transeuro’s engine lies in its translation data, born from the expertise of specialist translators,” says Inokuchi.

The engine has received such widespread recognition that transeuro has begun commercializing it to help various companies increase their operational efficiency. It has prompted subsequent inquiries from diverse industries eager to utilize it. One of Japan’s top heavy industry manufacturers recently entrusted transeuro’s AI translation engine to enhance internal workflows.

The Hallmark of Distinction

Diverging from the traditional freelance model, transeuro maintains a team of dedicated, full-time employees committed to maintaining the quality of medical translation. In a country where translators adept in the German language are hard to find, this is an invaluable advantage. The company can also scale its operations more smoothly by relying on its full-time staff, resulting in quicker response times for clients with varying project deadlines.

Further setting transeuro apart is its effort to ensure its translators are up-to date with evolving medical terminologies and scientific developments. With online medical and chemical media and magazine subscriptions specific to the field, the translators stay abreast of the latest trends in the medical industry.

Along with the subscriptions, transeuro’s translation academy acts as a platform for continuous learning and skill enhancement. The company invites instructors to provide pharmaceutical translation training to its employees, offering valuable insights to keep the translators at the forefront of medical translation expertise.

In addition to these internal training efforts, transeuro extends its knowledge-sharing capabilities beyond its team. It offers courses and training to external students, particularly in patent translation, with a focus on the German language.

Future-Proofing Medical

Translation From cementing the company as experts in translating medical documents in German to creating a regional translation engine, transeuro has had an extraordinary journey. Looking ahead, the company has set its sights on venturing deeper into AI-powered medical and pharmaceutical document translation.

“In the coming years, it is indeed likely that companies will integrate translation engines into their offices, with the final step being submitting proofs to high-level translation companies or expert translators,” says Inokuchi.

This industry shift is a testament to the enduring value transeuro’s proprietary engine brings to the evolving world of translation.

It also plans to build on its experience in training the AI engine with patent data to capitalize on upcoming technological developments and bolster its market value. This growth strategy represents a comprehensive plan to leverage its established strengths in AI-driven translation, aligning it with the medical sector’s demands. Fueled by an undying commitment to transforming the way pharmaceutical and medical device documents are translated, transeuro brings a new level of assurance and quality into medical translation.