Lee Pyoung Jik, Hampton Thomas
Acoustics Research Unit, School of Architecture, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
ENT Department, Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Liverpool, UK; Department of Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK.
J Crit Care. 2024 Feb;79:154435. doi: 10.1016/j.jcrc.2023.154435. Epub 2023 Sep 25.
This study aims to explore the suitability of using smartphone applications with low-cost external microphones in measuring noise levels in intensive care units.
Four apps and two external microphones were tested in a laboratory by generating test signals at five noise levels. The average noise levels were measured using the apps and a professional device (i.e. a sound level meter). A field test was performed in an intensive care unit with two apps and one microphone. Noise levels were measured in terms of average and maximum noise levels according to the World Health Organisation's guidance. All the measurements in both tests were conducted after acoustic calibration using a sound calibrator.
Overall, apps with low-cost external microphones produced reliable results of averaged noise levels in both the laboratory and field settings. The differences between the apps and the sound level meter were within ±2 dB. In the field test, the best combination of app and microphone showed negligible difference (< 2 dB) compared to the sound level meter in terms of the average noise level. However, the maximum noise level measured by the apps exhibited significant differences from those measured by the sound level meter, ranging from -0.9 dB to -4.7 dB.
Smartphone apps and low-cost external microphones can be used reliably to measure the average noise level in the intensive care unit after acoustic calibration. However, professional equipment is still necessary for accurate measurement of the maximum noise level.
本研究旨在探讨使用配备低成本外置麦克风的智能手机应用程序来测量重症监护病房噪声水平的适用性。
在实验室中，通过在五种噪声水平下生成测试信号，对四款应用程序和两个外置麦克风进行测试。使用这些应用程序和专业设备（即声级计）测量平均噪声水平。在一个重症监护病房中，使用两款应用程序和一个麦克风进行了现场测试。根据世界卫生组织的指导方针，按照平均噪声水平和最大噪声水平来测量噪声水平。在两次测试中，所有测量均在使用声校准器进行声学校准后进行。
总体而言，配备低成本外置麦克风的应用程序在实验室和现场环境中均产生了可靠的平均噪声水平测量结果。应用程序和声级计之间的差异在±2分贝以内。在现场测试中，应用程序和麦克风的最佳组合在平均噪声水平方面与声级计相比差异可忽略不计（<2分贝）。然而，应用程序测量的最大噪声水平与声级计测量的结果存在显著差异，范围从-0.9分贝到-4.7分贝。
经过声学校准后，智能手机应用程序和低成本外置麦克风可可靠地用于测量重症监护病房的平均噪声水平。然而，准确测量最大噪声水平仍需要专业设备。
