Using AI to Address Alarm Fatigue

In hospitals, where timely responses are critical, the constant sound of alarms has become a pervasive issue. This ceaseless noise, known as alarm fatigue, erodes their ability to respond effectively, compromising both patient safety and clinician well-being.  

Medtronic is leading an initiative to address this challenge through the project ‘Beyond the Noise: Clinical Alarm Fatigue Reduction.’ Partnering with Providence Health Care (PHC) Ventures, Excelar Technologies, the University of Toronto, and the University Health Network (UHN), the project aims to tackle alarm fatigue by improving alarm management. Co-funded by DIGITAL, Canada’s Global Innovation Cluster for digital technologies, this project seeks to enhance patient care by reducing the impact of unnecessary alarms. 

Addressing Alarm Fatigue 

Alarm fatigue is a significant concern, with up to 95% of clinical alarms being false or non-actionable. This frequent barrage of alerts can increase patient anxiety, disrupt sleep, and desensitize clinicians, thereby affecting the quality of care. The ‘Beyond the Noise’ project aims to mitigate this issue by developing an advanced AI platform that utilizes machine learning to filter out irrelevant alarms, ensuring only critical alerts reach health care professionals. 

This approach goes beyond traditional methods, which often redirect alarms to mobile devices or nursing stations. Instead, the machine learning algorithms will distinguish between critical and non-critical alerts, thus reducing false alarms and alleviating the burden on clinical staff. 

A major project component, led by PHC Ventures and Excelar, involves creating a standardized clinical AI platform to evaluate and refine AI modules under real-world conditions. This initiative will enable the rapid validation of new AI technologies, initially focusing on alarms related to vital signs. With a significant investment from PHC Ventures in the AI platform, its design will not only improve current systems but also support future expansions and collaborations, amplifying its impact on health care. 

Leveraging AI to Enhance Patient Care 

partner in this project and the potential impact it will have for consortium members soon, and for the creation, adoption, and refinement of AI in actual health care operations. This is something critical to the decade ahead as we grapple with demographic changes, resource challenges, and increasingly complex health needs.” 

Rick Sethi, Senior Director of Research & Technology and Open Innovation at Medtronic, noted: “Our collaboration with DIGITAL and our consortium partners represents a crucial step toward addressing the daily challenges of alarm fatigue. By leveraging AI, we aim to improve clinical workflows and patient care.” 

With a total budget of $5 million, ‘Beyond the Noise’ unites leading organizations to tackle alarm fatigue and contribute to a more efficient, patient-centered health care system. 

Stay tuned for updates as this innovative project progresses towards transforming the future of hospital care.