Erratum to: 36th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13054-016-1208-6.]

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 sound can aggravate patients' health issues and negatively impact the performance of healthcare professionals. This paper focuses on Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) as an especially sensitive case representing a hostile acoustic environment in which healthcare professionals have little awareness of how unwanted sounds impact the perceived quality of the soundscape. We performed a semi-systematic review of scientific literature on sound assessment studies in NICU from 2001. A thematic analysis was performed to identify emerging themes that informed the analysis of 27 technological solutions for the assessment of sound quality in indoor and outdoor environments. Solutions were categorized by functions and evaluation methods and grouped according to the characteristics of the design components, i.e., acquisition, computation, and communication strategies. Results highlight a lack of solutions to assess the qualitative characteristics of indoor environments such as NICU and forecast the footprint that different sound sources have on the indoor soundscape. Such solutions are urgently needed to empower healthcare professionals, and especially nurses, to actively modify and prevent the negative impact of unwanted sounds on NICU and critical care soundscape.Design Aesthetic

Framework of awareness: For the analysis of ergonomics in design

The present paper introduces the Framework of Awarenessto the analysis of ergonomics in design. The framework is part of a doctoral research that took the Lean Thinking perspective by adopting the concept of MUDA and its set of principles as dimensions to study designers’ behaviour in industry.Results were integrated into a Framework of Awareness to critical situations and crucial actions in design, with application in the research field of design and product development for managerial support, and of particular interest for the analysis of ergonomics in design. The framework is the result from detailed non-participatory researchacross five design disciplines. The framework proposes a mindful approach to the analysis ofcritical situations through a structured procedure but without requiring specific technical knowledge. The framework aims to support designers and developers totheawareness of critical situations and opportunities, through a set of principles-based, iterative and momentarily application. The ramework is proposedto the design practice to nurture a culture of awareness andprovide guidelines to support designers’ framing their interventions and eventually change previously identified less successful behaviour.Product Innovation ManagementIndustrial Design Engineerin

Quantum Mechanics, Ambiguity and Design: Towards a Framework

Quantum Mechanics could have fundamental impact on design models and measurement. Quantum mechanics allows us to fill in the blanks of classical models of design, through its ability to explain ambiguous states of design. An ambiguous state is where design exists in between two binary states, as a superposition. Designers are most likely to be unfamiliar with quantum mechanics, as well as the subject of quantum mechanics being complex and sometimes contradictory to human scale mechanics. By discussing the opportunities of quantum mechanics for design, we are proposing a framework to model and measure ambiguous dimensions of design through quantum superpositions. The proposed framework includes the dimensions for the directionality of design (convergence or divergence), the degree of design embodiment (from low to high) and the decision-making of the designer (yes to no). Once the designer attempts the measurement of a superposition, a binary state can be distilled. For the act of designing, filling in the blanks is equal to sculpting away superposed states. In this philosophy, to design is to measure. This early stage research raises areas of opportunities and suggests further research directions for quantum mechanics and design.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Design Aesthetic

Conceptualising sound-driven design: An exploratory discourse analysis

Sound-driven design is an emerging, human-centered design practice informed by technology and listening in the multisensory dimension of interaction. In this paper we present a discourse analysis approach aimed at qualitatively understanding the constituent concepts of such a practice, by means of semi-structured interviews with sound designers, design researchers, engineers and expert users in the context of critical care. Preliminary results show that sound-driven design is inherently embodied, situated, and participatory, that the four categories of interviewees equally contribute to the definition of the design problem, and yet that a clear, shared arena is still missing. Industrial Design EngineeringDesign Aesthetic

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 and recognizing automatically and permanently patient monitoring alarms inside the NICU. The proposed algorithm leverages from prior knowledge of the spectro-temporal structures of alarms to first detect each single occurrence of an alarm tone, and then group the detected tones into a known alarm pattern. A preliminary evaluation of the algorithm on a small set of 4-channel recordings capturing a simulated NICU soundscape shows that around 99% of the acoustic alarms are correctly recognized, and that around 99% of the recognized alarms are true alarms. The algorithm lends itself to efficient real-time implementation and to generalization to other alarm patterns as defined by the IEC 60601-1-8 standard.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Design Aesthetic

Alarm fatigue in the perception of medical soundscapes

Industrial DesignIndustrial Design Engineerin

Exploring profiling and personalisation in sleep music design: Towards conceptualising musical sleep aids for hospital use

Music as a low-cost sleep aid is a promising way to improve the sleep quality of people. However, most available sleep music playlists are limited to generic, soothing songs, which do not take in account personalisation. In collaboration with the Neurology Department of the Reinier de Graaf hospital (Delft, The Netherlands), we explored a profile-based personalisation approach to deliver music that fits with people' sleep and music preferences. Through generative research, we collected people's preference data and proposed four, evocative sleep music profiles: The Explorer, the Diver, the Hunter, and the Observer. The results of the profiling evaluation suggest that the profile experience is credible, intuitive, and easy to use. Four profiles can reflect people's preferences, but may not be stable. Design AestheticsIndustrial Design Engineerin

Doplor Sleep: Monitoring Hospital Soundscapes for Better Sleep Hygiene

Good sleep is conducive to the recovery process of hospital patients - and yet, in many wards, sleep duration and quality can often be suboptimal, in part due to modifiable hospital-related sounds and noises. At the neurological ward of the Reinier de Graaf hospital in Delft, the Netherlands, we developed and evaluated a prototype information exchange system to raise awareness of specific sounds as disturbing patients' sleep. The system both classifies different relevant sound events and tracks sleep quality (using a Fitbit device). This information is then visualized for patients and staff to present the influence of the soundscape on patients' sleep hygiene in a friendly and comprehensive way. We discuss the design process, including a context study and various evaluations of the technology, interface, and created affordances. Our initial findings indicate that visualizing hospital soundscapes may, indeed, support both patients and staff in their efforts towards better sleep hygiene. Design AestheticsIndustrial Design EngineeringInternet of Thing

Framework of awareness to critical situations in design and product development: A lean thinking approach to deal with uncertainty and risk

The present research takes the Lean Thinking perspective adopting the concept of MUDA as dimension to study designers’ behavior and provides managerial support with a Framework of Awareness to critical situations in the research field of design and product development.Product Innovatie ManagementIndustrial Design Engineerin