Comparing novel absorptive treatments in operating rooms.

Abstract

Hospital noise levels have been rising over the past several decades, and there have been few viable noise control solutions. The hospital environment can have special health requirements due to strict infectious control criteria. In order to meet these requirements, a novel absorbing panel was developed for a previous study in this series and installed in hematological intensive care units at the Johns Hopkins University Hospital Weinberg Building. This current study focuses on the impact of installing the panels in an operating room in the Johns Hopkins University Hospital. The impacts of the addition of sound absorbing materials in these operating rooms were analyzed both acoustically and perceptually. Sound level recordings and reverberation times were measured before and after the installation of the absorbing panels. Comparisons of these acoustic measurements will be presented. Additionally, a before/after questionnaire was administered to the operating room medical staff. Statistically significant differences in the survey results will be presented. These preliminary results in acoustic and survey data illustrate the effectiveness of the use of novel hospital-approved absorbing panels in the operating room.