Kurzweil Educational Systems was founded in 1996 by inventor Ray Kurzweil in order to develop next-generation reading technology for persons with blindness or a visual impairment, learning disabilities, and reading disabilities. Kurzweil Educational Systems is now a division of Lernout & Hauspie (L&H).
Intended for use by the blind or visually impaired, the L&H Kurzweil 1000 is a modern version of Kurzweil Computer Products' Kurzweil Reading Machine. A speech synthesizer reads written material aloud using a flatbed scanner or a virtual printer driver, which allows the software to read any printable file.
The L&H Kurzweil 3000 assists those with learning disabilities or reading disabilities by displaying the scanned material on-screen and highlighting words as they are read. This patented method helps to increase reading speed and comprehension in both children and adults.
Those with poor vision can use the L&H MagniReader, which scans printed material and enlarges it onscreen. When eye fatigue begins to make reading difficult for the user, he or she may opt to use the included speech synthesizer to read the material aloud.
Sources:
http://www.lhsl.com/education/
http://www.kurzweiltech.com/kesi.html