Industry
Healthcare
Company
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
My Role(s)
Part 1: Product Design Lead
Part 2: Project & Pilot Lead
Improving the sonic experience for patients and staff in clinical spaces
Industry
Healthcare
Company
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
My Role(s)
Product Design Lead
Project & Pilot Lead
Improving the sonic experience for patients and staff in clinical spaces
Improving the sonic experience for patients and staff in clinical spaces
Industry
Healthcare
Company
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
My Role(s)
Product Design Lead
Project & Pilot Lead
Project Overview
I led the conception, design, and testing of a reactive biophilic soundscaping platform to enhance the sonic atmosphere of clinical spaces. What started as a proof of concept resulted in an 8 room, 1,800 person pilot at MSKCC’s outpatient surgery center.
Our solution out performed existing products and rooms on both qualitative and quantitative metrics, leading to project expansion and partnership with a soundscaping vendor to develop a clinically focused commercial product.
Increased patient/staff satisfaction
24 min quicker time to discharge
23% lower self-reported pain
5% less instances of nausea
Project TLDR
I led the conception, design, and testing of a reactive biophilic soundscaping platform to enhance the sonic atmosphere of clinical spaces. A proof of concept resulted in an 8 room, 1,800 person pilot at MSKCC’s outpatient surgery center.
Our solution out performed existing products and rooms on both qualitative and quantitative metrics, leading to project expansion and partnership with a soundscaping vendor to develop a clinically focused commercial product.
Increased patient/staff satisfaction
24 min quicker time to discharge
23% lower self-reported pain
5% less instances of nausea
TLDR
I led the conception, design, and testing of a reactive biophilic soundscaping platform to enhance the sonic atmosphere of clinical spaces. What started as a proof of concept resulted in an 8 room, 1,800 person pilot at MSKCC’s Josie Robertson Surgery Center.
Our solution out performed existing products and rooms on both qualitative and quantitative metrics, leading to project expansion and partnership with a soundscaping vendor to develop a clinically focused commercial product.
Increased patient/staff satisfaction
24 min quicker time to discharge
23% lower self-reported pain
5% less instances of nausea
Product Design
Pilot Design
User & Market Research
Stakeholder MGMT
Product MGMT
Part 1: Initial Problem, Our Solution, & Proof of Concept
Clinical spaces can be too loud, too quiet, and notoriously unpredictable. This leads to higher stress, less rest, and negative outcomes for both patients and staff.
Part 1: Initial Problem, Our Solution, and Proof of Concept
Clinical spaces can be too loud, too quiet, and notoriously unpredictable. This leads to higher stress, less rest, and negative outcomes for both patients and staff.
Part 1: Initial Problem, Our Solution, & Proof of Concept
Clinical spaces can be too loud, too quiet, and notoriously unpredictable. This leads to higher stress, less rest, and negative outcomes for both patients and staff.
Part 1
Initial Problem, Our Solution, and Proof of Concept
Clinical spaces can be too loud, too quiet, and notoriously unpredictable. This leads to higher stress, less rest, and negative outcomes for both patients and staff.
Insights
Noise isn’t always an issue, but stressful sonic environments are.
Studies confirm the negative impacts of clinical noise
Too quiet of a space can be just as bad as too loud
Oncology has specific noise considerations & needs
Routing/Silencing alarms has regulatory implications
Internal & external factors make clinical settings unpredictable
Noise isn’t always an issue, but stressful sonic environments are.
Studies confirm the negative impacts of clinical noise
Too quiet of a space can be just as bad as too loud
Oncology has specific noise considerations & needs
Routing/Silencing alarms has regulatory implications
Internal & external factors make clinical settings unpredictable
Noise isn’t always an issue, but stressful sonic environments are.
Studies confirm the negative impacts of clinical noise
Too quiet of a space can be just as bad as too loud
Oncology has specific noise considerations & needs
Routing/Silencing alarms has regulatory implications
Internal & external factors make clinical settings unpredictable
Our hypothesis:
If we can improve the sonic atmosphere in a patient room while reducing ambient stressors, we would expect to see improvements around sleep/stress levels, discharge time, and vitals (HR, BP, etc)
Part 1 of 2
Initial solution & proof of concept
My Role
Product Design Lead
The Team
Full Stack Engineer
Product Designer (me)
Our hypothesis:
If we can improve the sonic atmosphere in a patient room while reducing ambient stressors, we would expect to see improvements around sleep/stress levels, discharge time, and vitals (HR, BP, etc)
Existing solutions have drawbacks.
Things like acoustic isolation, noise cancellation, and workflow changes are effective, but all have shortcomings. Sound masking with white noise is effective, increases privacy, and is widely used, but can cause ear fatigue, frustration, and doesn't aim to improve a space.
Existing solutions have drawbacks.
Things like acoustic isolation, noise cancellation, and workflow changes are effective, but all have shortcomings. Sound masking with white noise is effective, increases privacy, and is widely used, but can cause ear fatigue, frustration, and doesn't aim to improve a space.
Existing solutions have drawbacks.
Things like acoustic isolation, noise cancellation, and workflow changes are effective, but all have shortcomings. Sound masking with white noise is effective, increases privacy, and is widely used, but can cause ear fatigue, frustration, and doesn't aim to improve a space.
Any new solution needs to meet specific requirements.
1
It cannot be physically intrusive for the patient
2
It shouldn't create excessive room noise for staff
3
It will not create a feeling of isolation for the patient
4
It will not create feelings of discomfort for patients
5
It can be used in a variety of clinical settings
Any new solution needs to meet specific requirements.
1
It cannot be physically intrusive for the patient
2
It shouldn't create excessive room noise for staff
3
It will not create a feeling of isolation for the patient
4
It will not create feelings of discomfort for patients
5
It can be used in a variety of clinical settings
Solution & Prototype
We built a reactive biophilic soundscaping prototype that plays generative nature based audio and automatically adjusts based on environmental frequencies, amplitudes, time of day, and user input.
Solution and Prototype
We built a reactive biophilic soundscaping prototype that plays generative nature based audio and automatically adjusts based on environmental frequencies, amplitudes, time of day, and user input.
Solution and Prototype
We built a reactive biophilic soundscaping prototype that plays generative nature based audio and automatically adjusts based on environmental frequencies, amplitudes, time of day, and user input.
Our solution aimed to leverage the benefits of widely adopted white noise sound masking, while avoiding the negative impacts from longer exposure. Generative Nature sounds have proven in studies to be as effective at masking as white noise, but with the added benefits of time insinuation and subjective enjoyment.
Our solution aimed to leverage the benefits of widely adopted white noise sound masking, while avoiding the negative impacts from longer exposure. Generative Nature sounds have proven in studies to be as effective at masking as white noise, but with the added benefits of time insinuation and subjective enjoyment.
Leadership interest skyrocketed after hands on demos and videos telling the story of our problem and solution.
We couldn’t find any vendors doing this type of work in clinical settings, meaning if our solution worked we might be addressing a real gap in the market. We needed a robust comparison to test our assumptions, hypothesis, and the performance and potential of our concept.
This led us to the PEACE Pilot.
We couldn’t find any vendors doing this type of work in clinical settings, meaning if our solution worked we might be addressing a real gap in the market. We needed a robust comparison to test our assumptions, hypothesis, and the performance and potential of our concept.
This led us to the PEACE Pilot.
We couldn’t find any vendors doing this type of work in clinical settings, meaning if our solution worked we might be addressing a real gap in the market. We needed a robust comparison to test our assumptions, hypothesis, and the performance and potential of our concept.
This led us to the PEACE Pilot.
PEACE Pilot by the numbers…
1758
Patients
included
8
Outpatient
Post-Op Rooms
27
Qual & quant
Data points
3
Testable Approaches
100
Patient and Staff Surveys
Part 2: Testing, Evaluation, & Partnerships
The Patient Experience and Acoustic Care Enhancement (PEACE) Pilot was a year long three-arm clinical pilot comparing reactive biophilic soundscaping against traditional white noise and a group of control rooms.
Part 2: Testing, Evaluation, & Partnerships
The Patient Experience and Acoustic Care Enhancement (PEACE) Pilot was a year long three-arm clinical pilot comparing reactive biophilic soundscaping against traditional white noise and a group of control rooms.
Part 2:
Testing, Evaluation, & Partnerships
The Patient Experience and Acoustic Care Enhancement (PEACE) Pilot was a year long three-arm clinical pilot comparing reactive biophilic soundscaping against traditional white noise and a group of control rooms.
Test > Evaluate > Compare > Proceed
With support from MSK leadership, we moved to validate our assumptions that our solution would work as intended, perform better than existing white noise products, and would be well received by patients and staff.
Our pilot took place in 8 post-op recovery rooms, comparing reactive biophilic soundscaping and traditional white noise against a control group.
2 Reactive Biophilic Rooms
2 Static White Noise Rooms
4 Control Rooms
We left each system on for 8 months while collecting qualitative and quantitative data from patients and staff. All rooms were identical, room assignments were random, and all patients received the same standard of care.
We partnered with Moodsonic, a biophilic soundscaping company serving office and retail settings, to redesign their existing product for clinical use and replace our prototype in the pilot.
Pilot Outcomes
Excitement and appreciation from patients, enthusiasm from nurses, and direct requests for enhancements and wider implementation of biophilic soundscaping from clinical leadership.
"It seems to help decrease the city sounds and makes a more relaxed and peaceful atmosphere" - JRSC PACU Nurse
"The sounds in the room with the stream were soothing and they helped me relax"
- JRSC Surgery Patient
When sound is treated as a designed element—not background noise—it reduces stress and improves the subjective experience for patients and staff.
Qualitative Results
Patients and staff both expressed support for biophilic soundscaping as a quality improvement addition provided specific UX and interaction updates were made to the system.
91% of biophilic soundscaping survey comments were positive
90% of staff respondents supported the soundscape concept
Patients consistently praised staff and MSK facilities across all rooms
Most staff provided targeted UX feedback and expressed frustration around connectivity and hardware (tablet) issues.
Quantitative Results
Evaluation of 1758 patients initially showed promising results around quicker discharge times, lower pain scores, and less nausea.
Metric
Biophilic
Control
White Noise
Duration
186 min
210 min
282 min
Pain Score
1.67
2.17
2.25
Nausea
19%
24%
28%
What did this all lead to?
MSKCC is continuing to develop, explore, and invest in soundscaping in multiple areas based on the positive feedback and promising data trends.
The partnership with Moodsonic is expanding and they're integrating the feedback from our pilot into the roadmap of a new commercial healthcare offering.
Our thousands of sensor readings are influencing room and workflow design in MSK’s new flagship hospital with reactive soundscaping considered for multiple areas.
Other MSK departments are exploring more soundscaping use cases, studies, and settings (e.g. shared spaces, chemo bays)
PEACE Pilot by the numbers…
PEACE Pilot by the numbers…
1758
Patients
included
1758
Patients
included
8
Outpatient
Post-Op Rooms
8
Outpatient
Post-Op Rooms
3
Testable Approaches
3
Testable Approaches
27
Qual & quant
Data points
27
Qual & quant
Data points
100
Patient and Staff Surveys
100
Patient and Staff Surveys
Part 2 of 2
Testing, evaluation, & partnerships
My Role
Project & Pilot Lead
The Team
1 Executive Champion
1 Clinical Champion
3 PACU Nurses
2 Facilities Managers
1 Epidemiologist
2 Biostatisticians
1 New Ventures Manager
1 External Vendor
Test > Evaluate > Compare > Proceed
With support from MSK leadership, we moved to validate our assumptions that our solution would work as intended, perform better than existing white noise products, and would be well received by patients and staff.
Our pilot took place in 8 post-op recovery rooms, comparing reactive biophilic soundscaping and traditional white noise against a control group.
2 Reactive Biophilic Rooms
2 Static White Noise Rooms
4 Control Rooms
We left each system on for 8 months while collecting qualitative and quantitative data from patients and staff. All rooms were identical, room assignments were random, and all patients received the same standard of care.
We partnered with Moodsonic, a biophilic soundscaping company serving office and retail settings, to redesign their existing product for clinical use and replace our prototype in the pilot.
Pilot Outcomes
Excitement and appreciation from patients, enthusiasm from nurses, and direct requests for enhancements and wider implementation of biophilic soundscaping from clinical leadership.
"It seems to help decrease the city sounds and makes a more relaxed and peaceful atmosphere" - JRSC PACU Nurse
"The sounds in the room with the stream were soothing and they helped me relax" - JRSC Surgery Patient
When sound is treated as a designed element—not background noise—it reduces stress and improves the subjective experience for patients and staff.
Qualitative Results
Patients and staff both expressed support for biophilic soundscaping as a quality improvement addition provided specific UX and interaction updates were made to the system.
91% of biophilic soundscaping survey comments were positive
90% of staff respondents supported the soundscape concept
Patients consistently praised staff and MSK facilities across all rooms
Most staff provided targeted UX feedback and expressed frustration around connectivity and hardware (tablet) issues.
Quantitative Results
Evaluation of 1758 patients initially showed promising results around quicker discharge times, lower pain scores, and less nausea.
Metric
Biophilic
Control
White Noise
Avg. Discharge Time
186 min
210 min
282 min
Pain (0-10)
1.67
2.17
2.25
Nausea-med use
19%
24%
28%
What did this all lead to?
What did this all lead to?
MSKCC is continuing with soundscaping in multiple areas, given the positive feedback and promising data trends.
MSKCC is continuing with soundscaping in multiple areas, given the positive feedback and promising data trends.
Moodsonic is continuing to partner with MSK, integrating our feedback into their roadmap to develop a new commercial healthcare offering.
Moodsonic is continuing to partner with MSK, integrating our feedback into their roadmap to develop a new commercial healthcare offering.
Our sensor data is influencing room and workflow design in MSK’s new flagship hospital with Moodsonic contributing to multiple areas.
Our sensor data is influencing room and workflow design in MSK’s new flagship hospital with Moodsonic contributing to multiple areas.
Other MSK depts are exploring additional soundscaping use cases and settings (e.g. shared spaces, chemo bays) for similar outcomes.
Other MSK depts are exploring additional soundscaping use cases and settings (e.g. shared spaces, chemo bays) for similar outcomes.