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In today's rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, technology is playing a pivotal role in enhancing patient engagement. Among the many innovations, digital avatars have emerged as a promising solution for hospitals and healthcare facilities, allowing them to provide personalized and inclusive care experiences. In this blog post, we'll take you through the fascinating process of creating digital avatars that deliver American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL), bridging the communication gap and humanizing the patient experience.

Step 1: CHOOSE THE CHARACTER

The journey of creating your digital avatar begins with selecting the right character. This character serves as the face and voice of the avatar, making it relatable and approachable to your patients and visitors. The choice of character is crucial in creating a connection with patients and for them to feel represented. Our team works with your team to ensure that every detail is precisely the right fit for your facility. 

Step 2: CREATE THE KNOWLEDGE BASE

Behind every effective digital avatar is a robust knowledge base. This step involves collecting and organizing the questions, answers, and points of interest that are the most important to your patients. Once that information is established the content is translated into all the desired languages which can include American Sign Language (ASL) as well as British Sign Language (BSL). The knowledge base empowers the avatar to provide accurate and relevant information to patients, ensuring that their questions and concerns are addressed with precision.

Step 3: PREPARE TO ANIMATE

Preparing to animate the digital avatar involves defining its behavior, gestures, and expressions. Our team translates the knowledge base content into all chosen spoken languages. When using ASL or BSL we capture the expert signer's fingers, hands, wrists, arms, and shoulder movements and the facial expressions from a couple of different angles. Delivering ASL or BSL means each sign must be accurate and culturally appropriate to ensure effective communication with members of the Deaf community. 

Step 4: CREATE THE ANIMATIONS

This step is where the avatar's personality shines through and brings it to life. The animations include body movements, facial expressions, and gestures that mimic natural human gestures, An empathetic and caring demeanor is essential in making patients feel comfortable and heard.

Step 5: REVIEW FOR ACCURACY

Accuracy is paramount in a patient experience. After all the animations are complete and paired with the audio, the digital avatar goes through a meticulous review process with all of the appropriate team members, any necessary changes are made until the animation delivers the proper, readable messages. This collaboration ensures that the avatar's knowledge and sign language communication are precise and error-free!

Step 6: BUILD THE EXPERIENCE

Building the overall patient experience around the digital avatar is the next critical step. This includes integrating the animations into the solution using our proprietary content-building tool that bundles the project-specific content and delivers it through cloud-based services to the experience. The knowledge base can be expanded over time and updated to always provide a seamless experience for your patients and visitors.

Final Step: DELIVER

After you've chosen the type of certified hardware that works perfectly for your needs from one of our trusted partners and we integrate your experience then it's time to deliver personalized and inclusive conversational technology to your healthcare facility. Your patients and visitors can now engage with your digital avatar, asking questions, getting real-time information, and receiving it in their native language. This technology not only enhances communication but also humanizes the patient experience by providing a caring and responsive presence. This reduces the burden on your human staff yet still makes patients feel seen, heard, and cared for. As technology continues to advance, the potential for these avatars to scale and improve patient outcomes and satisfaction is limitless. 

To wrap it up, the creation of digital avatars for your facility is a multi-step process that involves careful planning, meticulous attention to detail, and a commitment to inclusivity. By delivering almost endless spoken languages, ASL and BSL healthcare facilities are breaking down communication barriers and humanizing the patient experience. As technology evolves, we can expect even more innovative solutions that will improve patient outcomes and satisfaction ensuring your healthcare facility is their top choice for their wellness journey. 

Download our "How We Create Our Solutions" - a Step-by-Step Guide today!