Differentiate your product by the sound it makes!
Medical devices and equipment make noise – and contribute to the rising noise levels in hospitals, clinics, in-home care and other health care institutions. Brüel & Kjær can help you improve your product by giving you the tools to understand and control sound & vibration it creates.
Medical Equipment Alarm Sound Analysis
Alarm sounds in the medical industry must be easily detectable and recognizable – caregivers must take immediate and appropriate action in event of alarm. A medical technology supplier approached us for help to study existing medical alarm sounds and to develop an alarm sound for a new product.
Our engineers measured alarms sounds on-site at three hospital locations using both a Binaural Head and Torso Simulator and a hand-held sound-level meter.
These sounds were analyzed to understand their time and frequency domain contents, and to determine opportunities for new alarm sounds...
Dialysis machine sleep disturbance noise
A medical equipment manufacturer requested help in estimating the how the sound of a dialysis machine for home use disturbs sleeping patients. This type of machine is portable and follows the patient. When the patient is in bed, the machine, roughly of the size of a microwave oven, is on a nearby table.
Acoustic binaural recordings were measured to mimic what the patient would hear in the course of normal operation of the device. We developed a method of analysis using sound quality metrics to best understand what impact the machine would have on sleep disturbance. These results can be used by the manufacturer to set target levels and metrics for product development.
Transportation vibration testing
A medical devices supplier needs to ensure that their products arrive undamaged, particularly when transported on poor road surfaces in developing countries. The supplier required a vibration test system to simulate the transport conditions using a series of random, swept sine and shock profiles complying with the ASTM and ISTA standards.
The delivered system is used in the quality control process to ensure that both medical devices and packaging can withstand the rigors of transporting to the end customer. Key factors for the supplier were that operators would find it easy to use the solution and interpret the results.
Benefits for paitients and medical staff
- Quick and streamlined noise root cause detection
- Efficient sound quality determination
- Alarm alerts with correct sound
- Overall enhanced product quality - durability and performance
- Improved environment for rest and sleep in a hospital