A review of design guidelines for clinical auditory alarms

Abstract

The global medical safety standard IEC 60601-1-8 includes general requirements for the design of auditory alarms for medical equipment. This document was last amended in 2012 and is currently being updated to be released in the end of 2019. The update includes major changes in the auditory warning signals design guidelines. One of the most important is the fact that it will allow stakeholders to design different versions of the same sound. It is thus relevant to systematize the thorough and robust body of knowledge developed in recent years regarding the design of clinical auditory alarms. This paper identifies the reported problems with clinical auditory alarms; revisits early and current audio design guidelines; and systematizes recommendations or good-practices on healthcare noise, considering spectral, temporal and spatial characteristics of auditory alarms. All content is based on standards and/or experimental studies on detection, learning, subjective perception, or spatial localization. Its aim is to provide a practical tool for designers to design better clinical auditory alarms.