Spectralis "noise"

Wed, 26 Oct 2016 06:04:05 GMT

Recently, we have moved our OCTs around. The new space for the Spectralis in our injecting clinic is a room with hard walls, floor and ceiling.

As a result the sound from the Spectralis resonates in the space and is now much more noticeable. It almost gives you a headache after the 20+ patients for the clinic have been seen.

The staff who use the machine are concerned about their hearing. The easy solution is for the operators to wear earmuffs, but I suspect that may cause the patients alarm.

Has anyone done any study into the noise or have any suggestions for mitigating the sound? Do you wear earmuffs?

I think our hospital would be happy if earmuffs were the solution, rather than lining the room with acoustic fabric...

Thanks for any help.

Lisa

L.M.Breayley

Senior Photographer

The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital

32 Gisborne Street, East Melbourne 3002

P: 03 9929 8335

E: Lisa.Breayley@eyeandear.org.au

W: www.eyeandear.org.au

Wed, 2 Nov 2016 15:32:50 GMT

Hi Lisa!
Spectralis, depending on how old/new it is usually runs at about 65db-78db. The newer units run quieter. OSHA permits anything under 85db to be safe for up to 8hr/day use. They did acknowledge that the fact that it was a mono-frequency had an annoyance level to it, but it is safe.

Now, that being said, there is a possibility to create “standing waves” in a room where reflections of smooth surfaces (eggshell paint or glossy paint, linoleum floor) can cause these standing waves. We had a patient who was an acoustical engineer and he recommended that we break up the sound reflections with sound tiles placed on the wall. Other observations. Small rooms seem to make the sound appear louder, as do the above mentioned smooth surfaces on floor, wall and ceiling.

In our clinic, We are allowed radio use, as to keep us sane from monotony. If you are concerned about noise level, most app stores on your phone have a db meter(un-calibrated) but it will give you a good idea at what level there running at.

Fri, 11 Nov 2016 02:33:12 GMT

Jonathan, great points and suggestions. I have a small set of computer speakers in clinic, which I connect o my personal laptop. I pipe in mostly jazz instrumental as it doesn't interrupt with talking with patients. No foam tile yet, but the room is 12 feet by 8 feet with wood and padded chairs. The pitch doesn't bother me any longer, but I think I will look into the tile to deaden the sound even more.

Great hearing from you Lisa (pun intended). Cheers!

Tue, 7 Feb 2017 17:24:37 GMT

The short answer for getting sound to be less noticeable is to do what they do in sound booths. Remove the hard surfaces by using specialized foam padding on the walls, it's usually porous and wouldn't handle a patient vomiting on it very well, but the sound experts use soft surfaces to reduce reflection of noise. That's how our sound booths were set up while I was working at Utah Valley University in their Studios & Broadcast Services, and it worked very well.