Abstract: A computer program product residing on a computer readable medium for avoiding headers/footers while synthesizing speech for a reading machine includes instructions for causing the reading machine to determine if text in regions of a document correspond to text of a header or a footer and synthesize speech to read the document aloud to a user of the reading machine, while ignoring those portions of the document that correspond to a header or footer.

Abstract: A method of correcting an image file produced by scanning a document is described. The method includes determining probable regions of text from an image file containing an image of a left page and a right page of a document and determining a page boundary between the regions of text. The method splits the image file about the determined page boundary into two separate image files corresponding to an image of the left hand page and the right hand page. The method can be implemented as a computer program product residing on a computer readable medium for separating an image file containing a pair of pages into separate image files of each page.

Abstract: A reading machine for a blind or visually impaired person includes a computer system that causes the computer to load a definition file in accordance with the current word whose definition a user desires the reading machine to read aloud, extract from said definition file text corresponding to at least a first definition contained in said file, and synthesize speech corresponding to the extracted text to permit the definition to be read aloud. The reading machine includes a user input device including a user activated button that produces a signal that causes the computer to enter a definition mode to read a definition of current word being spoken by the reading machine.