RT journal article
T1 Noise level in neonatal incubators: A comparative study of three models
A1 Fernández Zacarías, Francisco
A1 Beira Jiménez, Juan Luis
A1 Bustillo Velázquez-Gaztelu, Pedro J.
A1 Hernández Molina, Ricardo
A1 Lubián López, Simón Pedro
A2 Ingeniería Mecánica y Diseño Industrial
A2 Máquinas y Motores Térmicos
A2 Materno-Infantil y Radiología
K1 noise level
K1 neonatal incubator
K1 noise isolation
AB BackgroundPreterm infants usually have to spend a long time in an incubator, excessive noise in which can have adverse physiological and psychological effects on neonates. In fact, incubator noise levels typically range from 45 to 70 dB but differences in this respect depend largely on the noise measuring method used. The primary aim of this work was to assess the extent to which noise in an incubator comes from its own fan and how efficiently the incubator can isolate external noise.MethodsThree different incubator models were characterized for acoustic performance by measuring their internal noise levels in an anechoic chamber, and also for noise isolation efficiency by using a pink noise source in combination with an internal and an external microphone that were connected to an SVAN958 noise analyzer.ResultsThe incubators studied produced continuous equivalent noise levels of 53.5–58 dB and reduced external noise by 5.2–10.4 dB.ConclusionsA preterm infant in an incubator is exposed to noise levels clearly exceeding international recommendations even though such levels usually comply with the limit set in the standard IEC60601-2-19: 2009 (60 dBA) under normal conditions of use.
PB Elsevier
SN 2073-4360
YR 2018
FD 2018-02-20
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/30430
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/30430
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 10-nov-2026