Postgraduate Program in Materials, Technology Center (CTEC), Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL), Maceio, Alagoas, 57072-900, Brazil.
Physics Instrumentation Laboratory (LINFIS), Department of Physics (DFIS), State University of Feira de Santana (UEFS), Avenida Transnordestina, s/n - Novo Horizonte, Feira de Santana, 44036-900, Bahia, Brazil.
Biomed Phys Eng Express. 2023 May 23;9(4). doi: 10.1088/2057-1976/acd55c.
In spite of the advent of medical technology, modern newborn incubators (NIs) do not protect them from high noise levels in the neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Allied to bibliographical research carried out measurements were made inside the dome of a NIs and the results show that the sound pressure levels, or noises, are much more intense than the levels stipulated by the norm NBR IEC 60.601.2.19 of ABNT. These measurements revealed that the NIs air convection system motor is the main source of excess noise. In view of the above, a project was developed with the objective of significantly reducing the noise level inside the dome by modifying the air convection system. Thus, a quantitative study was developed, based on the experimental method, where a ventilation mechanism was designed, constructed and tested, which operated from the network of medical compressed air, present in the NICUs and maternity rooms. Respectively, before and after the modification of the air convection system, the data of relative humidity, air velocity, atmospheric pressure, air temperature and noise [(64.9% ur/33.1% ur); (0.27 m s/0.28 m s); (1.013.98 hPa/1.013, 60 hPa); (36.5 °C/36.3 °C); (45.9 dBA/30.2 dBA], were collected by electronic meters that registered the conditions of the external and internal environment of the dome of an NI with a passive humidification system. The noise measurements in the environment showed that there was a strong reduction of 15.7 dBA, or 34.2% of internal noise, measured after the modification of the ventilation system, showing a significative performance of the modified NI. Therefore, our results may be a good choose to improve NI acoustics to enable optimal care of the neonate in the neonatal intensive care units.
尽管医疗技术已经出现，但现代新生儿培养箱（NICU）并不能保护它们免受新生儿重症监护病房（NICU）内的高噪声水平的影响。在进行文献研究的同时，还对 NICU 穹顶内的噪声进行了测量，结果表明，声压级（或噪声）比 ABNT 的 NBR IEC 60.601.2.19 规定的水平要高得多。这些测量结果表明，NICU 的空气对流系统电机是产生过量噪声的主要来源。鉴于上述情况，开展了一个项目，旨在通过修改空气对流系统，显著降低穹顶内的噪声水平。因此，开展了一项基于实验方法的定量研究，设计、制造和测试了一种通风机制，该机制利用了 NICU 和产房内存在的医用压缩空气网络。分别在修改空气对流系统前后，使用电子仪表收集了相对湿度、空气速度、大气压力、空气温度和噪声的数据 [(64.9% ur/33.1% ur); (0.27 m s/0.28 m s); (1.013.98 hPa/1.013, 60 hPa); (36.5 °C/36.3 °C); (45.9 dBA/30.2 dBA]，这些数据记录了带有被动加湿系统的 NICU 穹顶内外环境的条件。环境噪声测量结果表明，通风系统修改后，内部噪声降低了 15.7 dBA，即 34.2%，性能显著提高。因此，我们的研究结果可能是改善 NICU 声学环境、为新生儿提供最佳护理的一个不错选择。
