Implementation of multilingual support of the European Multicenter Study about Spinal Cord Injury (EMSCI) ISNCSCI calculator

Christian Schuld,Joachim Schweidler,Nan Liu,Norbert Weidner,Jiri Kriz,Rüdiger Rupp,Steffen Franz,Renata Hakova

doi:10.1038/s41393-021-00672-y

Abstract

ObjectivesSince their introduction, electronic International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSCI) calculators have evolved to powerful tools providing error-free ISNCSCI classifications in education, research and clinical practice. For increased accessibility and dissemination, a multilingual support is mandatory. The aim of this work was to setup a general multilingual framework for the freely available ISNCSCI calculator (https://ais.emsci.org) of the European Multicenter Study about Spinal Cord Injury (EMSCI).MethodsThe graphical user interface (GUI) and PDF export of the ISNCSCI worksheet were adapted for multilingual implementations. Their language-dependent content was identified. These two steps called internationalization have to be performed by a programmer in preparation of the translations of the English terms into the target language. This step following the internationalization is called localization and needs input by a bi-lingual clinical expert. Two EMSCI partners provided Standard Mandarin Chinese and Czech translations. Finally, the translations are made available in the application.ResultsThe GUI and PDF export of the ISNCSCI worksheet were internationalized. The default language of the calculator is set according to the user’s preferences with the additional possibility for manual language selection. The Chinese as well as a Czech translation were provided freely to the SCI community.ConclusionsThe possibility of multilingual implementations independent from software developers opens the use of ISNCSCI computer algorithms as an efficient training tool on a larger scale.

Highlights

The International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSCI) [1, 2] published by the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) and the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) is based on a standardized clinical segmental examination of sensory and motor function
A Chinese version was launched at the annual meeting of the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) 2016 in Philadelphia, USA [26] and is freely available online
The collaboration for the Czech translation was established at the annual meeting of the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) 2016 in Vienna, Austria [27]

Summary

Introduction

The International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSCI) [1, 2] published by the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) and the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) is based on a standardized clinical segmental examination of sensory and motor function It provides classification procedures for determining the level and the severity of a spinal cord injury (SCI). Intensive training has been strongly recommended to ensure a reliable examination [3, 4] Based on this clinical examination, several classification variables have been defined describing the location of the SCI (neurological level of injury, motor and sensory levels), the severity of the SCI (complete versus incomplete, ASIA Impairment Scale) and the zones of partial preservation in cases with missing sensory or motor function in the most sacral segments.

Objectives

Results

Discussion

Conclusion