Acoustics in Healthcare Environment

7/21/2019 Acoustics in Healthcare Environment

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Acoustic in Hospital andHealth care centres

Presented by:-Surender

Vikas



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Making Hospitals QuieterAcoustical Engineers Reduce

Hospital Noise with FiberglassPanels

New, hi-tech panels can help bring down unhealthy noise levels in hospitals. Thepanels are made of berglass and coated with anti-bacterial fabric. If placed onwalls and ceilings they can absorb the noise produced by euipment, loudconversation, or ventilation systems -- instead of helping it propagate.

You wouldn't have surgery at a baseball game, but a new study

shows hospital noise levels are equivalent to a sporting event.It's a deafening problem for Johns opkins registered nurse

!laire "eers. #It's often the $onversation noise be$ause people

are speaking above all of the equipment and all of the ba$kground

noise,# she says.

%he panels are made of fiberglass, $overed in anti&ba$terial

fabri$. hen pla$ed on the $eiling or walls, sound waves hit the

panels and be$ome absorbed and trapped, losing their energy in

the entangled fibers within the panels && leaving nothing left but

pea$e and quiet.



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!ohns "op#ins $niversity

BACKR!"N#: ( new study by resear$hers at Johns opkins )niversityreveals that hospital noise levels around the world have in$reased steadily over the

past *+ years. In fa$t, it is among the top $omplaints of both patients and hospital

staff members. %o date, s$ientifi$ studies have been s$ar$e, and were $ondu$ted by

medi$al personnel, not a$ousti$al eperts. %he opkins resear$hers were also able

to test two te$hniques that helped redu$e noise in some patient areas.

$HE PR!B%EM& ospital sound levels have risen from *- de$ibels && about

the noise level of a normal $onversation && to - de$ibels && about the noise level of

a freeway && sin$e /01+. %his e$eeds the orld ealth 2rgani3ation's /00*

guidelines for hospital noise. (mong other $on$erns, high noise levels disturb

patients and staff members, raise the risk of medi$al errors, and hinder efforts to

moderni3e hospitals with spee$h re$ognition systems. 4oise levels even remainhigh at night be$ause of hospital ventilation settings. 5any spa$es use a$ousti$al

$eiling tiles to absorb sound, but these are often absent from patient areas be$ause

they $an house infe$tious organisms.



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P!''(B%E '!%"$(!N': %wo small $hanges made in the study

helped redu$e noise by modest amounts. 6irst, in the pediatri$ intensive $are

ward, outfitting staff with small hands&free personal $ommuni$ators that operate

mu$h like $ell phones enabled them to be signaled quietly and dire$tly. It $ut the

frequen$y of loudspeaker announ$ements from an average of one every five

minutes to about on$e an hour. (nd by wrapping fiberglass insulation inside anantiba$terial fabri$ and atta$hment them as sound absorbers to the $eiling and

$alls of a $an$er unit, they were able to redu$e the amount of sound boun$ing

around a room by a fa$tor of three. )nfortunately, noise from air handling

systems is mu$h more diffi$ult to address in eisting fa$ilities. 6or future new

hospitals or renovations, a$ousti$s eperts and ar$hite$ts $ould work together to

redu$e noise problems.

H!) N!('E CANCE%%A$(!N )!RK': )nlike ear plugs

and sound dampeners, noise $an$ellation tries to blo$k the unwanted

sound at its sour$e, rather than merely trying to prevent it from

entering our ears. If we add two sound waves together, and the peaks

of one line up with the valleys of the other, they will $an$el ea$h other

out. 7igital signal pro$essors 87S9s: are mi$roele$troni$ devi$es that

determine whi$h sound wave is required to $an$el the unwantedsound wave 8noise:. It then $reates that sound and amplifies it through

speakers or headphones. %he end result is near silen$e. 5ost $ell

phones, !7 players, and hearing aids now $ontain one or more 7S9

devi$es.



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AC!"'$(C' (NHEA%$HCARE

EN*(R!NMEN$'INTRODUCTION THE CURRENT STATE OF ACOUSTICS IN HEALTHCARE

ENVIRONMENTS WHY ACOUSTICS MATTER IN HEALTHCARE ENVIRONMENTS UNDERSTANDING THE PRIMARY ACOUSTIC ISSUES UNDERSTANDING HOW ACOUSTICS ARE MEASURED

DESIGN STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVED ACOUSTIC ENVIRONMENTS;<4<=(> 7<SI;4 !24SI7<=(%I24S

S9<!I6YI4; 5(%<=I(>S (47 6I4IS<S

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ACOUSTIC REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIALIED ENVIRONMENTS4<24(%(> I4%<4SIV< !(=< )4I%S 84I!)s:

<5<=;<4!Y 7<9(=%5<4%S 8<7s: MEETING THE STANDARDS



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5any sounds are present in hospital environments, in$luding

those from beepers, alarms, ma$hines, rolling $arts, V(!

systems, and $onversations, among other sour$es. %hese $an be

severely irritating and at times harmful to patients, depending on

their $urrent $onditions 8i.e., age, hearing ability, medi$ation

intake, $ultural ba$kground, and pre&eisting fears and

anieties:.($ousti$s in health$are environments are $omple and

require a $areful, strategi$ design.

T"% &$''%NT (T)T% *+ )&*$(TI&(

IN "%)T"&)'% %NI'*N%NT( ($ousti$ levels in todayAs hospitals are very high. ( study $ondu$ted by

"us$h&Vishnia$ et al. in ++* found that sound pressure levels have risen

signifi$antly and $onsistently sin$e /01+. 2n average, daytime levels

have risen +.BC d" and nighttime levels have risen +.D d"Eea$h year.


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/acoustics-in-healthcare-environment 7/25Page "

(fter a$ousti$al $eiling tiles repla$ed the eisting sound refle$tive

$eiling tiles in the main work area and patient rooms in a Swedish

hospital, nurses reported lower work demands and less pressure

and strain during their afternoon shift 8the noisiest shift studied:.



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Spe$ifi$

a$ousti$al

$onsideration

s in

health$are

settings

in$lude

supporting

patient well&being and

priva$yF

supporting

$ommuni$ati

on among

staffF andmeeting

standards

and

regulations



Page $

G(r$hite$tural design strategies su$h as pla$ing staff rest areas

away from noise sour$es and a$ousti$al environment de$isions

su$h as spe$ifying quieter alarms and ma$hines $an aid in

redu$ing noise levels in hospitals.H

/%(I0N (T')T%0I%( +*'IP'*%/ )&*$(TI&%NI'*N%NT(Ge%e&a' De()g% C*%()+e&a,)*%(

7esign 9ro$ess

<mploy an a$ousti$al engineer at the early stages of the design

ire an a$ousti$al $onsultant to assess spee$h priva$y

Site 7esign

!onsider all eisting and future sour$es of noise 8e.g., highways

and airports in the $onstru$tion phase:!ondu$t site measurements to determine the impa$t of noise

from the surrounding, eternal environmentF plan the site and

design the buildingAs faade to mitigate any impa$ts.



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G<stablish lower outdoor sound levels 8a day&night average of *+

d": in outdoor patient areas through noise barriers or shielding

strategies.H



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Spa$e 9lanning



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S.e/)0)%g Ma,e&)a'( a%+ F)%)(e(

!eilings

suspended a$ousti$al $eiling system with sound&absorbing $eiling tiles to

promote a satisfa$tory a$ousti$ environment. hen this is not possible orfeasible, $onsider mounting sound absorbing panels dire$tly onto the $eiling

and upper walls, as this may still provide signifi$ant noise redu$tion.



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;lass fiber (!% have high sound absorption qualities, often having

4=! ratings of +.0+ or higher.

5ineral fiber (!% have sound absorption properties 8maimum +.C+

4=!: lower than glass fiber (!%, but typi$ally have a higher !(!

8between B+ and D+:, indi$ating they greatly redu$e soundtransmission.

!omposite $eiling panels 8a $ombination of a glass fiber fa$ing and a

mineral fiber or gypsum board ba$king: have high sound isolation and

sound absorption

!ast mineral fiber $omposition enhan$es sound isolation and sound

absorption.

alls=e$ogni3e that doors $an have a tremendous negative impa$t on the

a$ousti$al performan$e of a wall.

"e aware that both door positioning and V(! du$t layout $an impa$t

the priva$y performan$e of walls. ( dire$t du$t run through rooms $an

redu$e priva$y and in$rease distra$tions in health$are settings.



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all Surfa$esSpe$ify surfa$e&mounted, one&in$h thi$k wall panels or other sound&

absorbing wall materials with an 4=! of +.-+ or more to effe$tively

absorb noise from $ommon a$tivities in health$are environments,

espe$ially in large areas where noise tends to build up.

Install sound&absorbing wall materials perpendi$ular to ea$h other to

redu$e flutter e$hoes

Spe$ify fabri$&wrapped wall panels in non&$lini$al areas of a hospital

where regular $leaning is not required!over glass& or natural& fiber wall panels with a thin, impermeable film

8e.g., taffeta vinyl, polyvinyl fluoride: to allow for easy $leaning in

$lini$al areas of a hospital.

6loors"e aware that of the most $ommon floor surfa$es in hospitals, some

8e.g., rubber: $reate less impa$t noise than others 8e.g., vinyl

$omposition tile installed dire$tly on $on$rete or terra33o:.



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5inimi3e the use of floor

dis$ontinuities 8e.g., epansion breaks

and transitions: to redu$e vibrations

$aused by rolling equipment over

them.Spe$ify $arpet to effe$tively redu$e

impa$t noise 8e.g., foot traffi$, $arts: in

health$are environments. owever,

understand that it typi$ally provides an

4=! of around +.+ to +.B+ and should

be $onsidered one element of severalto provide sound absorption.

2ther 5aterials

!onsider how movable furniture panels,

glass partitions, and a$ousti$ally treated

$urtains $an be used in open spa$es to

blo$k noise. In open&offi$e areas,

furniture panels should be at least 1+

high and have an S%! of at least D.



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G !ontaining

airborne and

stru$ture&

borne noise

$reated by5=I s$anners

and minimi3ing

vibrations from

eternal

sour$es in

spa$es wheres$anners are

housed are

two primary

design

interventions

needed tomaintain a

safe

health$are

environment.H



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%nclosed (paces

"e aware that glass

doors or vision panels

may provide thedesired a$ousti$al

priva$y and sound

isolation, while still

allowing for visual

a$$ess



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*pen (paces



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)nderstand that $eiling panels with higher 4=! and !(! values

are manufa$tured in many styles and $olors that meet both

budget and design requirements



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White Paintable Acoustical Panels

V)%' S*%+ a&&)e&



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Than# you

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Acoustics in Healthcare Environment