Medical Translation
Santium delivers medical translations that preserve clinical meaning and intended use across languages. Workflows are designed for clinical, regulatory, and research contexts where accuracy, cross-cultural relevance and functional reliability matter.
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Supporting Solutions
SUPPORTING SAFE AND EFFECTIVE Global MEDICAL COMMUNICATION
MEDICAL TRANSLATION
Medical translation supports communication in contexts where information is used to inform health-related understanding, decisions, and actions. Unlike scientific texts, which are written to advance or interpret knowledge within a research community, medical content is created to be understood and applied by patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals in clinical research and in real-world healthcare settings.
Medical texts often address symptoms, conditions, treatments, risks, and care instructions. Their effectiveness depends on clarity, accuracy, and appropriateness for the intended audience. Ambiguity, imprecision, or inconsistent terminology can affect comprehension and, in some cases, contribute to misunderstanding, inappropriate care decisions, or misdiagnosis.
The role of medical translation is therefore functional and safety-oriented. It focuses on conveying medical meaning clearly and reliably across languages while adhering to established medical terminology and usage conventions. Translation decisions are guided by how information will be interpreted and used in healthcare contexts, rather than by explanatory or academic objectives.
Santium supports medical translation by applying linguistically and medically informed workflows designed to preserve meaning, reduce ambiguity, and maintain consistency across related materials. Work is carried out with attention to audience, context of use, and the potential consequences of misinterpretation, supporting clear and responsible communication of medical information across languages.
WHAT QUALIFIES AS MEDICAL CONTENT
Medical translation applies to content created to communicate health-related and clinical research information for use in healthcare, clinical trials and various patient- and caregiver-facing contexts. These texts are intended to inform understanding, support decision-making, or guide appropriate actions related to health, treatment, or care.
Content typically handled under this service includes:
- patient education and informational materials
- clinical outcome assessments (PRO, ClinRO, ObsRO, PerfO)
- instructions and explanations related to treatments, procedures, or care pathways
- healthcare program and service descriptions
- clinician-facing educational or reference materials not intended for research dissemination
- clinical-trial-related training modules and drug information
- public health and health-promotion materials
What distinguishes medical content from scientific or technical is its function and audience. Medical texts are written to be understood by patients, caregivers, or healthcare professionals and to be applied in real-world health-related contexts. Clarity, terminological accuracy, and appropriateness for the intended reader are essential to avoid misunderstanding or misuse.
This service does not extend to scientific research manuscripts, academic publications, or research dissemination materials, which are addressed under scientific translation. Content whose primary purpose is operational, technical, regulatory, or legal in nature (e.g., a patient consent form) is also outside the scope of medical translation.
By clearly defining what qualifies as medical content, this service ensures that translation approaches remain aligned with the communication, safety, and comprehension needs of healthcare and clinical research settings.
CORE TRANSLATION PRINCIPLES
Medical translation is guided by principles that prioritize clarity, safety, and correct interpretation in healthcare contexts. The objective is to convey medical meaning accurately and unambiguously so information can be understood and used as intended by its audience.
Clarity
Medical content must be interpreted consistently and appropriately within its healthcare context. Translation choices aim to minimize ambiguity while accounting for culturally mediated diagnostic language, including indirect or stigma-aware phrasing used in certain medical settings. Clarity is evaluated based on how information is understood and applied in practice, rather than on literal directness alone.
Consistent and Localized Terminology
Medical terminology is selected based on established usage in the target language and applied consistently across related materials. Stable terminology helps prevent misunderstanding, especially when multiple documents address similar conditions or treatments.
Audience-Appropriate Language
Medical texts may be intended for patients, caregivers, or healthcare professionals. Language level, register, and phrasing are adapted to the intended reader while preserving medical meaning, ensuring accessibility without oversimplification.
Handling of Risk-Sensitive Language
Descriptions of symptoms, risks, contraindications, and limitations require particular care. Translation decisions account for how wording may influence understanding or behavior, reducing the potential for misinterpretation or unsafe use of information.
Together, these principles support accurate and responsible communication of medical information across languages and cultures, helping medical content remain clear, consistent, and appropriate for its context of use.
LINGUISTIC AND MEDICAL COMPETENCE
Medical translation requires linguistic expertise combined with a working understanding of medical language, conventions, and communication practices. Translators must be able recognize when word choice affects interpretation, comprehension, or downstream decision-making.
In practice, most professional translators are not formally trained in medicine. For this reason, medical translation often relies on subject-matter experts (SMEs) to support review and finalization of translated texts. SMEs provide medical oversight, helping to confirm terminological accuracy, assess clinical plausibility, and resolve ambiguities that may not be evident through linguistic review alone.
Medical competence in this context refers to familiarity with how medical concepts are expressed and documented in the target language, including standard diagnostic terminology and culturally mediated ways of discussing sensitive or stigmatized conditions. Linguistic competence remains essential, as medical information is often complex, nuanced, and context-dependent, requiring careful handling of conditional language, risk statements, and audience-specific register.
By combining linguistic expertise with SME-supported medical review, this service supports translations that reflect how medical information is communicated and understood in practice, reducing the risk of misinterpretation while maintaining accuracy and consistency across languages.
CONTEXTS OF USE
Medical translation is applied in contexts where medical information must be clearly understood and appropriately used across languages in healthcare-related settings. These contexts are defined by the need for accurate interpretation, audience-appropriate communication, and sensitivity to the potential consequences of misunderstanding.
Medical translation is typically applied in the following contexts:
- Patient-facing materials, such as clinical assessment, educational content, informational brochures, explanatory resources related to health conditions, treatments, or care pathways.
- Clinician-facing materials, including educational, reference, or training content used to support healthcare practice outside of research or clinical trial settings.
- Healthcare program and service communications, such as materials describing medical services, initiatives, or public health programs.
- Public health and health-promotion materials, where clear and culturally appropriate medical communication is essential for comprehension and engagement.
Across these areas, medical translation supports the responsible communication of medical information so that it can be understood, applied, and relied upon in real-world healthcare environments.
DELIVERABLES AND FORMATS
Medical translation deliverables are provided in formats that support review, submission, publication, and institutional dissemination. Santium accepts the full range of common authoring and submission formats and can also support professionally formatted publication outputs when required.
Supported formats include:
- Editable documents (e.g., Word or equivalent) for author review, collaboration, and revision.
- Tabular formats (e.g., Excel) used for structured scientific content, tables, and reference materials.
- Structured and markup formats (e.g., XML, IDML or similar) used in publishing and content management workflows.
- Presentation formats for conference papers, posters, and academic dissemination.
In addition to translation, Santium offers multi-lingual graphic design and desktop publishing (DTP) services to support scientific content prepared for high-visibility use or professional publication. This includes handling layouts, adjusting space for longer or shorter texts after translation, switching from left-to-right text flows to right-to-left when required, adjusting figures, tables, references, and typographic conventions commonly required by journals, publishers, and institutional outlets.
Publication-ready outputs can be delivered in multiple formats suitable for professional production workflows, ensuring that translated content is structurally aligned and packaged with publication standards. This allows scientific materials to move directly from translation into submission or production without additional formatting steps.
strengthen your MEDICAL TRANSLATION project
related services
Linguistic Validation
Linguistic validation supports clinical and research decisions. Through cognitive debriefing, it builds on medical translation by confirming that meaning, instructions, or responses remain relevant, and equally functional and understood in real-world international use.
Translatability Assessment
Pre-translation review that identifies linguistic and cultural conflicts before localization begins. This process reduces revision cycles by clarifying and defining ambiguous concepts, resolving inconsistencies in terminology, and identifying content that is not translatable and requires alternate wording, deeper adaptation or transcreation.
Clinimetric Review
Specialized expert review of outcome measures to support adaptation across languages, cultural contexts, and administration modes. To minimize noise in study data, we assess conceptual fidelity, scoring implications, and cross-cultural alignment to keep translated measurement items psychometrically sound and contextually relevant.
Data Collection & Validation
Cross-language validation of clinical outcome measures for new target populations, usability systems, and instructional content that supports relevant functional use, and target-audience comprehension. It also supports regulatory expectations and a consistent user experience across countries, languages and cultural contexts.
Dedicated Translation Teams
Small project-specific multi-disciplinary groups.
Translation Experience
Training and experience in medical translation.
Preserving CLINICAL integrity
Expert medical and scientific translators
Our subject-matter expert linguists specialize in medical and scientific translation and terminology. Assisted by the latest translation technologies, we preserve the clinical integrity of each document and deliver clear and functional translations that support patient safety and regulatory compliance.
- 3,000+ translators and editors
- 140+ languages supported
- ISO-aligned, audit-ready workflows
- Follow-the-Sun project support across 14 countries
- Specialized dedicated project teams
MEDICAL TRANSLATION
Finishing the unfinished...
Already have translations but aren’t sure if they’re complete, modified, accurate or certified? We can assess what you have, identify gaps, and build on your existing materials instead of starting over. Whether you need missing content translated, outdated versions aligned, or earlier work brought up to industry standards, we’ll help you finish the job.
SME Consensus
Subject-matter experts provide a consensus-based clinical review of sensitive medical content to confirm accuracy, appropriateness, and usability. It strengthens medical translation by resolving open issues through aligned expert judgment, reducing downstream revisions and increasing confidence in clinical and regulatory use.
Clinical Review & Editing
Native clinical specialists review medically sensitive concepts, instructions, diagnostic anchors, or clinical guidance to assess regional relevance and clarity. Editing focuses on refining terminology, resolving ambiguities, and aligning content with the intended medical or clinical interpretation.
Linguistic Review & Editing
Linguistic reviewers refine translated content by correcting terminology, resolving unclear phrasing, and improving structure while preserving the original meaning. Editing focuses on clarity, flow, and accuracy so materials read naturally and meet professional communication standards across scientific, medical, and technical domains.
Proofreading
We perform final quality checks to correct surface-level issues such as grammar, spelling, punctuation, formatting, and typographical errors. Proofreading ensures polished, error-free materials that are ready for publication, distribution, or regulatory submission, complementing earlier editing stages and maintaining consistency across related deliverables.
Glossary & Terminology
We build and maintain specialized terminology databases to unify language across subject-matter, studies and product lines. Controlled vocabularies reduce ambiguity, speed up editing time and strengthen quality assurance throughout the translation lifecycle.
Desktop Publishing
We maintain formatting integrity and brand recognition with polished professional layouts created by native-speaking designers and proofread by an independent reviewer. Translations are clear, accurate, with consistent formatting across manuals, forms, charts, and multi-page technical or scientific documents.
Our approach
The Santium method – where precision meets purpose
Santium’s methodology bridges linguistic accuracy with scientific discipline. Every project follows a validated, ISO-aligned process that preserves meaning, measurement, and usability across languages and contexts.
From concept review to pilot testing, each stage is designed to deliver traceable, reproducible outcomes in more than 140 languages worldwide.
Clients choose Santium for our ability to balance precision with understanding.
We adapt complex materials into content that communicates clearly and performs reliably, whether for regulators, clinicians, or patients, helping organizations build trust and consistency in their markets.
Multimedia and Digital Content Localization
For Training and Onboarding
Multimedia support includes subtitles, captions, and translated audio for rater training modules, e-learning programs, and presentations. Content such as SOP walk-throughs, protocol overviews, and procedural demonstrations is localized for clarity and usability across languages, helping global study teams deploy localized materials.
e-Learning Translation
High-quality translations for training content, rater modules, onboarding courses, and examination materials. Lessons, assessments, and interactive elements are localized for clarity, usability, and cultural relevance, helping global study teams deliver consistent learning experiences across sites, languages, and user groups.
Video Subtitling & Closed Captions
Precise, well-timed subtitles and closed captioning support multilingual training content, including onboarding videos, e-learning modules, and SOP walk-throughs. Terminology and procedural language are translated clearly so multilingual teams can follow demonstrations with ease.
Voiceover Translation (Dubbing)
Transcription, subtitling, voiceover, script localization, video production, and UX review for multimedia used in multi-language training, recruitment and onboarding, education, and research.
Transcription
Accurate, polished and secure transcription for clinical, scientific, and technical content. Audio and video files are converted into clean, structured text that is ready for analysis, review, and multilingual adaptation. Ideal for e-Learning content, training materials, interviews, high-impact meetings, presentations and documentation needing archiving or long-term knowledge retention.
Software Localization
Software localization for eCOA platforms supports your digital assessments, screens, and patient workflows feel native in every language. We adapt UI labels, messages, notifications, and task logic so they stay consistent and aligned with your requirements. Our team understands character limits, branching, scoring dependencies, and audit needs in eCOA systems, delivering a seamless experience across devices.
Video Production
Video production for COA training materials, patient instructions, and site-readiness programs. We create clear, culturally relevant videos that simplify complex concepts, maintain protocol compliance, and support consistent administration across sites and languages. Ideal for onboarding raters, guiding patients and caregivers, and enhancing the usability of COA and eCOA workflows.
Clinical Outcome Assessments
the four Main types of Clinical Outcome Measures
PRO: Patient-Reported Outcome
Patient-Reported Outcome Measures capture patients’ direct reports of symptoms, functioning, and treatment experience without clinician or caregiver interpretation. In linguistic validation, we evaluate conceptual clarity, comprehension, response scales, recall periods, and item functionality. This helps support meaningful interpretation of data sets collected across international research sites.
ClinRO: Clinician-Reported Outcome
Clinician-Reported Outcome Measures are completed by trained healthcare professionals based on clinical judgment, direct observation, or structured rating procedures. Linguistic validation focuses on the clarity and precision of rating instructions, anchors, diagnostic terms, and scoring rules so clinicians interpret and apply each item consistently across countries. We also assess terminology, task descriptions, and administration guidance for the target population and local clinical context.
ObsRO: Observer-Reported Outcome
Observer-Reported Outcome Measures capture information from caregivers or observers about behaviors and symptoms that patients cannot reliably self-report. Linguistic validation focuses on the clarity of observable concepts, reporting instructions, and caregiver decision-making, ensuring that items are interpreted as intended across languages and cultural contexts. We also evaluate administration burden, examples, and task demands to prevent misclassification or inconsistent observation in multilingual studies.
PerfO: Performance Outcome
Performance Outcome Measures assess a patient’s ability to complete standardized tasks that measure specific aspects of functioning, such as motor skills, cognitive processes, or physical capability. In linguistic validation, we review the clarity of task instructions, stimuli descriptions, timing requirements, and scoring methods to avoid unintentionally altering task difficulty or administration. We also identify phrasing and cultural factors that unfairly impact participants' understanding and performance.
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Partner with the experts in scientific, medical and technical translation
Let’s make your content work across languages and cultures.
Across sectors and formats, we help teams deliver accurate, accessible, and culturally relevant content that works in every language.
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