Frequency-Selective Silencing Device for Digital Filtering of Audible Medical Alarm Sounds to Enhance ICU Patient Recovery

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Date
2017-06Author
Schlesinger, Joseph J.
Reynolds, Elizabeth
Sweyer, Brittany
Pradham, Alyna
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Show full item recordAbstract
Free-field auditory medical alarms, although widely present
in intensive care units, have created many hazards for both
patients and clinicians in this environment. The harsh
characteristics of the alarm noise profile combined with the
frequency at which they sound throughout the ICU have created discomfort for the patients and contribute to
psychological problems, such as PTSD and delirium. This
frequency-selective silencing device seeks to attenuate these
problems by removing the alarm sounds from the patient
perspective. Patients do not need to hear these alarms as the alarms primarily serve to alert clinicians; therefore, this
device, using a Raspberry Pi and digital filters, removes the alarm sounds present in the environment while transmitting other sounds to the patient without distortion. This allows for
patients to hear everything occurring around them and to
communicate effectively without experiencing the negative
consequences of audible alarms.