New noise cancelling technology developed at Unitec in Auckland will be used to improve the lives of premature babies.
“This is new generation active noise control which doesn’t need headphones or a wearable device to be used. So it’s open space active noise control,” says Unitec's senior lecturer and researcher responsible Dr Iman Ardekani.
The technology is being installed in Sir Ray Avery's revolutionary baby incubator -- the LifePod.
The aim is to counteract the sound of the fan used to circulate air.
"We've got the right humidity, we've got the right temperature, but sound has been really largely neglected," says Sir Ray.
"International research has shown that ‘white noise’ from infant incubator fans can result in a number of adverse healthcare outcomes, including impaired cognitive skills, and now we have the tools to fix this problem.”
Dr Ardekani's technology is similar to what is used in noise-cancelling headphones.
A second sound wave is created, the same in magnitude to the first, but opposite.
At a particular point the two will cancel each other out and create silence.
He's now working on other applications for the tech and a moving zone of silence.
"Furniture companies, medical companies, everybody is looking at these kinds of applications," he says.
The collaboration came about through an introduction by the New Zealand Health Innovation Hub.
Chief executive Dr Frances Guyett says connecting people is crucial for all innovation.
“What we do is put the right clinicians together with the right researchers, and we provide the commercial expertise to make sure the intellectual property developed is protected,” she says.
“One of our mandates is to really grow wealth for New Zealand, so we help protect that IP and identify commercial opportunities."
Finding a way to block snoring is high on Dr Ardekani's list of to-dos.
Now that will definitely be music to the ears of many.
Newshub.
