Li Simon Y W, Tang Tsz-Lok, Hickling Anna, Yau Szeyuen, Brecknell Birgit, Sanderson Penelope M
Lingnan University, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong.
The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Hum Factors. 2017 Aug;59(5):765-781. doi: 10.1177/0018720817697536. Epub 2017 Jun 1.
Objective We compared the effectiveness of single-tone earcons versus spearcons in conveying information about two commonly monitored vital signs: oxygen saturation and heart rate. Background The uninformative nature of many medical alarms-and clinicians' lack of response to alarms-is a widespread problem that can compromise patient safety. Auditory displays, such as earcons and spearcons (speech-based earcons), may help clinicians maintain awareness of patients' well-being and reduce their reliance on alarms. Earcons are short abstract sounds whose properties represent different types and levels of information, whereas spearcons are time-compressed spoken phrases that directly state their meaning. Listeners might identify patient vital signs more accurately with spearcons than with earcons. Method In Experiment 1 we compared how accurately 40 nonclinician participants using either (a) single-tone earcons differentiated by timbre and tremolo or (b) Cantonese spearcons recorded using a female Cantonese voice could identify both oxygen saturation and heart rate levels. In Experiment 2 we tested the identification performance of six further nonclinician participants with spearcons recorded using a male Cantonese voice. Results In Experiment 1, participants using spearcons identified both vital signs together more accurately than did participants using earcons. Participants using Cantonese spearcons also learned faster, completed trials faster, identified individual vital signs more accurately, and felt greater ease and more confident when identifying oxygen saturation levels. Experiment 2 verified the previous findings with male-voice Cantonese spearcons. Conclusion Participants identified vital signs more accurately using spearcons than with the single-tone earcons. Application Spearcons may be useful for patient monitoring in situations in which intermittently presented information is desirable.
目的 我们比较了单音耳号声与语音耳号声在传达两种常见监测生命体征（血氧饱和度和心率）信息方面的有效性。背景 许多医疗警报缺乏信息性以及临床医生对警报缺乏反应是一个普遍存在的问题，可能会危及患者安全。听觉显示，如耳号声和语音耳号声（基于语音的耳号声），可能有助于临床医生保持对患者健康状况的关注，并减少他们对警报的依赖。耳号声是简短的抽象声音，其特性代表不同类型和水平的信息，而语音耳号声是经过时间压缩的口语短语，直接表明其含义。与耳号声相比，听众可能会用语音耳号声更准确地识别患者的生命体征。方法 在实验1中，我们比较了40名非临床医生参与者分别使用（a）通过音色和颤音区分的单音耳号声或（b）用粤语女性声音录制的粤语语音耳号声来识别血氧饱和度和心率水平的准确程度。在实验2中，我们测试了另外6名非临床医生参与者使用粤语男性声音录制的语音耳号声的识别表现。结果 在实验1中，使用语音耳号声的参与者比使用耳号声的参与者更准确地同时识别了两种生命体征。使用粤语语音耳号声的参与者学习速度也更快，完成试验更快，更准确地识别了各个生命体征，并且在识别血氧饱和度水平时感觉更轻松、更自信。实验2用粤语男性声音的语音耳号声验证了先前的研究结果。结论 与单音耳号声相比，参与者使用语音耳号声能更准确地识别生命体征。应用 在需要间歇性呈现信息的情况下，语音耳号声可能对患者监测有用。
