The ATA Chronicle - July/August 2018 - 26

TRANSLATING DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING continued

TIPS FOR TRANSLATING
DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING
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Double-check cognates. (Is this the
right term in the target language?)
Beware of borrowed English terms
and acronyms in the source (e.g.,
CAT versus TAC versus TDM in a
French report).
Research medical terminology-wordlevel translation is often inaccurate!
Always expand acronyms before
translating them (e.g., PDL ➔ produit
dose longueur ➔ dose length
product ➔ DLP).
Read imaging reports in your target
language (not just the source) to
identify medical writing practices
(e.g., passive voice, personal
pronouns, etc.).

Translating French diagnostic imaging involves many challenges, but
a primary one is the lack of one-to-one correspondence between French
and English terms and acronyms.

RESOURCE LIST
e-Anatomy
www.imaios.com/en
Maxwell, Robert W. Maxwell Quick Medical
Reference, 6th Edition (Maxwell Publishing
Company, 2012).
http://bit.ly/Maxwell-medical
Pocket Medicine: The Massachusetts
General Hospital Handbook of Internal
Medicine, 5th Edition (LWW, 2013).
http://bit.ly/pocket-internal-medicine
Tool Box for the Medical Translator
(French>English)
http://bit.ly/medical-toolbox
University of Wisconsin Radiology
Teaching Site
http://bit.ly/UW-radiology
Radiology Assistant: Radiological Society
of the Netherlands
http://bit.ly/radiology-assistant
Radiological Society of North America
http://bit.ly/RSNA-AAPM-modules
Radiopaedia
www.radiopaedia.org

26

The ATA Chronicle | July/August 2018

English-speaking medical professionals.
More accurate English translations include
"unremarkable," "no abnormalities
detected," "no significant findings,"
or "normal."

A STEEP LEARNING CURVE
WITH REWARDS
Radiography and CAT are common DI
modalities, each with its own specialized
vocabulary. Translators must invest time
and effort in researching the correct terms
for image description (i.e., "radiolucent/
radio-opaque" versus "hyperdense/
hypodense"). By building an understanding
of the technical basics and differences
between modalities, translators will have
a better command of the terminology
and enhance translation quality. While an
initially steep learning curve is involved in
these documents, translators should strive
to do the extra research on the procedure
and terminology in context. In other words,
never make any assumptions regarding
terms or acronyms, even if the cognate
"seems" to be right. While translating
these reports can be challenging, this is
a potentially lucrative area of specialized
medical translation and one with a
relatively limited range of terminology,

which means the investment of time and
research can reap tangible rewards.
Erin M. Lyons is a full-time French, Italian,
Spanish, Swedish >English translator, medical
writer, and consultant based in Paris, France.
She is also an adjunct professor of translation
at the University of Maryland and teaches digital
entrepreneurship at the École Supérieure de
Commerce et d'Économie Numérique. In 2016,
she developed BabelNouvelle, a mobile-based
translation technology employing crowdsourcing
and machine translation to facilitate medical
services in the developing world. She has a BA
in Romance languages and literature from the
University of Chicago and an MA in Italian and
French translation from the Middlebury Institute
of International Studies at Monterey. Contact:
elyons@biomednouvelle.com.
Lori Newman is a freelance Chinese, French,
and Spanish>English translator, editor, and
veterinarian based near Boston. She specializes
in veterinary and human medical translation
and editing. She recently translated four
veterinary clinical guides from Spanish into
English for publication. She has a DVM from
Tufts University, an MA in linguistics from the
University of California, San Diego, and a BS in
biochemistry from Brown University. Contact:
lori@newmantranslations.com.
www.atanet.org
http://www.imaios.com/en http://www.bit.ly/Maxwell-medical http://www.bit.ly/pocket-internal-medicine http://www.bit.ly/medical-toolbox http://www.bit.ly/UW-radiology http://www.bit.ly/radiology-assistant http://www.bit.ly/RSNA-AAPM-modules http://www.radiopaedia.org http://www.atanet.org
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The ATA Chronicle - July/August 2018
