The Sonic BoomThe Sound of Healthcare April 11th, 2015

#HealthHack2015@joelbeckerman

Sonic Humanism

The strategic use of music and sound to benefit people

(Life Sciences / Social Sciences / Design Thinking)

Alarm Fatigue

“Although studies show it is difficult for humans to differentiate among more than 6 different alarm sounds, the average number of alarms in an ICU has increased from 6 in 1983 to more than 40 different alarms in 2011.

In addition, 80% to 99% of electrocardiographic monitor alarms are false or clinically insignificant.”

American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN):

Decibels

1. Refs - JD?

30

40

50

60

70

80

WHO RECOMMENDED (35 dB)

1960

DECI

BELS

TIME2015

NIGHTTIME

DAYTIME

The Sonic Boom

Alarm hazards ranked number one on the 2014 Emergency Care Research Institute (ECRI)

Top 10 Health Technology Hazards

19 out of 20 hospitals rank alarm as a top concern

The FDA identified 862 alarm-related deaths in a recent 7-year period.

1. http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/feature/wp/2013/07/07/too-much-noise-from-hospital-alarms-poses-risk-for-patients/

Alarm Fatigue: The Problems• Volume of alarms • Number of alarms • Inconsistent in meaning • Frequency • Acoustic properties of hospital spaces • Devices that are unaware of each other

Other Sonic Opportunities in Healthcare

Sonification of Data

Sonic in Mobile Healthcare

Sonic Curation for Patients

Sonic Humanism: Design Truths

WHAT IF…• Sound was used more efficiently to illicit a response in emergency

circumstances? • Sound was designed to improve response times? • Sound could prioritize concerns quickly and intuitively?

Truth #1You react to sound first,

before any other sense registers. Even Touch.

WHAT IF…• Sound was used more efficiently to illicit a response in emergency

circumstances? • Sound was designed to improve response times? • Sound could prioritize concerns quickly and intuitively?

Truth #1You react to sound first,

before any other sense registers. Even Touch.

WHAT IF…

Truth #2You can only understand a limited number of

sounds at one time. Three.

• We re-consider alarm priorities and frequency of how often they sound?

• There was a standardized system of sound across devices and platforms?

• Alarms/alerts were controlled by "smart" algorithms to grade volume and intensity according to urgency

• Devices knew the state of other devices and understood the hierarchy of priority?

Truth #3Sound provides emotional context

for every communication

Truth #3Sound provides emotional context

for every communication

• Alarms more precisely communicated urgency? • Sounds alerted but didn’t annoy? • We considered how curated music or ambiance affect the mood of patients

and staff in a positive way? • Sound/music could play a role in Mental Health, one of Intrahealth’s top 10

health concerns of 2015? • Sound/music could meaningfully contribute to mobile health and global

health surveillance?

WHAT IF…

Truth #4sound opportunities exist both inside and outside

the human vocal range

• We redesigned alarms accordingly? • We reconsidered the design of mobile health information in devices?

WHAT IF…

Truth #5Silence is sonic design white space

• We reconsidered the sound in healthcare environments, pledging to trash the Sonic Trash.

• We redesigned hospital acoustics with sound attenuating materials? • We reconsidered where alarms were positioned in relation to the

patient? • We utilized current sound directive technology to direct sound away

from patients?

WHAT IF…

Sonic Humanism: Design Truths1. You hear sound before any other sense registers

2. You can only register the meaning and intent of a limited

number of sounds at one time

3. Sound can provide emotional context for communication

4. Sound can occur inside and outside the human vocal

range

5. Silence in sonic white space

Thank you!

#HealthHack2015@joelbeckerman