CanaryBox integrates surgical suite music with patient monitors for smart operating room music.
LINCOLN, NE September 12, 2018 -- Canary Sound Design, developers of the CanaryBox™ medical device data system, announced today the company has received a $50,000 bioscience grant from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development to further expand their CanaryBox smart music player. Matching funds of $25,000 were also contributed by the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development through the Launch LNK program. CanaryBoxoptimizes the surgical acoustic environment by tracking vital signs from the patient monitor and automatically adjusting and muting music if a patient’s vital signs trend outside of preset thresholds.
“Music is an essential element in many operating rooms and surgical suites - it's relaxing for the surgical team but at times can be a distraction or a barrier to communication,” said anesthesiologist Dr. Alistair MacDonald, co-founder of Canary Sound Design. “By integrating data from patient monitors with music volumes, CanaryBox automatically reduces background noise during periods when communication and speed of response are critical."
The CanaryBox grew out of an effort to create a more responsive surgical work environment in the face of the proliferation of data for clinicians to process, as well as rising legal and insurance costs. Average payouts for distractions in the operating room were approximately $725,000 according to Brian Thomas, JD in his February 2017 article, “Distractions in the Operating Room: An Anesthesia Professional’s Liability?”, while the average cost to defend malpractice claims between 1995 and 2005 was nearly $23,000, according to a 2012 report in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The Joint Commission, an organization that accredits nearly 21,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, likewise issued a safety bulletin in August 2017that recommends considering equipment alternatives that reduce noise when possible.
“Our aim is to help patients and providers by optimizing the surgical environment,” added MacDonald. “A $30,000 car today has the situational intelligence to automatically adjust music based on driving conditions. Shouldn't a $2,000,000 high-risk operating room be the same?"
CanaryBox, recognized by Outpatient Surgery Magazine as one of “12 Hot New Anesthesia Products” is currently in use in hospitals in Montana and Nebraska, with academic centers in California and Tennessee scheduling trials in late 2018.
About Canary Sound Design LLC
Co-founded in 2016 by two practicing anesthesiologists in Missoula, Montana and Lincoln, Nebraska, the mission of Canary Sound Design is to innovate acoustic solutions for the high-risk operating room. For more information, please visit www.CanarySoundDesign.com
Contact: Annie Crimmins, RN BSN
Manager
402-440-6659
Alistair MacDonald, MD
Director/Canary Sound Design, LLC.
alistair@canarysounddesign.com
