Using MP3-Like Code, Engineers Spot Hospital Alarm 'Masking'
Thursday, March 16, 2017 - 12:02
in Health & Medicine
The failure of hospital caregivers to respond to medical alerts is often attributed to "alarm fatigue." Another possible explanation: alarms sounding simultaneously can blend together, making one or more of them inaudible. The phenomenon, known as masking, makes it difficult to differentiate alarms, including those that signal life-threatening emergencies. A University at Buffalo-led research team is developing a computer-based tool -- using the same principles as MP3 audio files -- to identify these auditory blind spots.