Improving the quality of the acoustic environment in neonatal intensive care units: a review of scientific literature and technological solutions

There is an increased awareness of how the quality of the acoustic environment impacts the lives of human beings. Several studies have shown that sound pollution has adverse effects on many populations, from infants to adults, in different environments and workplaces. Hospitals are susceptible environments that require special attention since...

An Algorithm for Automatic Acoustic Alarm Recognition in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Inside the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), exposure to loud sounds such as acoustic medical alarms can have adverse effects on neonates, parents, and medical staff. With the aim of having an accurate overview of which and how often acoustic medical alarms occur, this paper presents a simple signal processing-based approach for detecting...

Towards a quieter neonatal intensive care unit: evaluating and visualizing soundscapes to raise awareness on sound-producing events

A soundscape is the acoustic environment that is constantly surrounding us. Soundscapes in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) might adversely affect neonates, their families, and healthcare providers. In this unit, the number of alarms and nuisance is very high, and studies show that it negatively affects both the well-being of patients and...

A persuasive game design solution: Stress reduction among neonatal nurses

This report presents the development of Interactive Mood, a digital solution that raises awareness of stress among neonatal nurses and stimulates social support within the team. It is part of the graduation project for the master Design for Interaction at the Delft University of Technology and was carried out on behalf of the Erasmus MC-Sophia...