User selectable masking sounds for medical instruments
US8798284B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignees
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 2, 2007 |
| Grant date | Aug 5, 2014 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 19, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04K2203/12
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A medical instrument includes a sound card or an internal capability for generating sounds from a digital music or sound file. The medical instrument is one which generates unwanted noise and is constantly in the presence of a patient or an operator, and may be in a home, a clinic, a laboratory, or other intimate setting. For instance, a patient may be typically connected for hours to a hemodialysis machine that has a noisy pump. A blood-plasma volunteer may be hooked to a noisy blood separation machine for a period of time. A laboratory technician may work in close proximity to a sample preparation machine that constantly gurgles and whirrs. In each instance, a sound card and a speaker can generate previously-recorded masking noises that make that the presence and operation of the machine more tolerable.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.