press release
February 27, 2020
Audio Spotlight Helps to Maximize Rest and Recuperation for Patients at North Carolina's Mission Hospital
Audio Spotlight directional speaker technology is helping to maximize rest and recuperation for patients at the Mission Health Hospital in Asheville, NC. Holosonics' partner and established audio-visual systems integrator, UMCS, installed over 200 Audio Spotlight speakers in patient rooms at the medical center's North Tower, where hospitalized individuals can now rest comfortably without being disturbed by TV audio that can only be heard by visitors in the room's guest seating area.
The AS-24i directional speakers were installed over the guest seating area in each room to allow visitors to watch TV without disturbing their loved ones as they rest, and even as they sleep, just inches away. Each 24-inch (60cm) square Audio Spotlight speaker panel at the hospital seamlessly replaced a standard drop ceiling tile in 220 patient rooms, to deliver sound in a narrow beam to the seating directly below, just like the beam of light from a flashlight.
According to Mission Health Senior Editor Robert Poarch, the renovation of the hospital that included the installation of Audio Spotlight technology will play a key role in "maximizing rest and healing through form and function" for patients at the facility.
In an article posted on the hospital's website, Mr. Poarch described how "Each room includes a 55-inch high definition smart television, which does double duty – aiding with patient care and providing entertainment. To help separate patients from noise, such as family members watching television, Audio Spotlight technology focuses sound through a narrow beam without disturbing the patient."
Ceiling-mounted AS-24i speakers deliver TV sound that can only be heard in each room's guest seating area
In addition to the directional sound technology installed in patient rooms at the hospital, Audio Spotlight technology has also revolutionized the internal communication landscape at Mission Hospital. Audio visual integrator UMCS also recently deployed eight AS-168i speakers, one unit per nursing station, in the hospital's nerve center, which is an open-concept Central Monitoring Unit (CMU).
Used in combination with telemetry systems designed by General Electric, the Audio Spotlight speakers deliver patient monitoring alerts that provide vital information to the nursing staff in the CMU, without any confusing sound bleeding to adjacent monitoring stations, or adding unwanted noise in the highly sensitive work environment.
"I felt very strongly that the Audio Spotlight system was the perfect solution for focusing programs directly to the guest area, while keeping the rest of the room silent. After presenting a demo in a mock room to the leadership team, they were blown away by the results, and we were told immediately to proceed."
- Mark Girardi President, UMCS
AS-168i speakers deliver separate sounds to each nurse's station in the Central Monitoring Unit
For its use in medical centers and hospitals such as North Carolina's Mission Hospital and other healthcare facilities, the flexible and self-powered Audio Spotlight directional speaker is a powerful tool, ensuring that isolated audio is provided to visitors, while keeping the surrounding area peacefully quiet for patients who are recuperating.
Audio Spotlight technology can also play a critical role in delivering personalized patient sound, especially in shared rooms with multiple beds, or transfusion stations in open concept facilities, and patient chairs in dentist or optometry offices, as well as for enhancing waiting rooms, digital signage, and wayfinding displays.
Other medical centers where Audio Spotlight directional sound has been implemented include Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN, Winchester Hospital in Winchester, MA, and Queensway Carleton Hospital in Ottawa, to name a few. Click here to view the Hospital Applications page on our website for more information.
Audio Spotlight speakers were added to 220 rooms at Mission Health Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina
Contact us today to learn more about how our directional sound technology can benefit your projects in the same way it has enhanced the experience for patients and visitors at Mission Health Hospital and in a wide variety of other settings that include retail stores, museums, libraries, airports, and many other locations throughout the world.
ABOUT HOLOSONIC RESEARCH LABS, INC.
Holosonic Research Labs, Inc., a pioneer in directional acoustics, develops and manufactures the Audio Spotlight directional sound system. Founded by MIT graduate Dr. F. Joseph Pompei, Holosonics’ Audio Spotlight technology is used in a wide variety of applications including museums, libraries, offices, reception areas, retail displays, trade shows, and retail kiosks. The world’s top organizations and companies use the Audio Spotlight directional sound system to beam sound to their listeners... and preserve the quiet.™
