D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 7 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 7 1
Canary Sound Design | Canary Box
Imagine you're in the OR and sud-
denly realize that the patient is in
life-threatening distress. But the
music is so loud, you have to shout
to get anyone's attention.
Alistair MacDonald, MD, experi-
enced that scenario and decided
to do something about it. The
result is the Canary Box, which
interfaces with patient monitors
and automatically turns music in
the OR either down or off,
depending on preset vital sign
increments.
The machine is compatible with
most major monitors and can be
set to respond to heart rate, oxygen saturation, and invasive or non-
invasive blood pressure. You can select as many or as few criteria as
you'd like, and set whatever thresholds you deem appropriate.
One important feature: The danger signs have to be within the pre-
set zone for a certain amount of time before they muzzle the music, so
there are few, if any, nuisance triggers.
It's a pretty neat idea, depending, of course, on how much your sur-
geons like rock and roll. In my experience, some of the younger guys
do really like to crank it up.
It's in the pilot stage right now (the FDA considers it information tech-
nology with no need to regulate), but the company expects it to go for
about $1,000.
• STOP THE MUSIC With Canary Sound Design, the music in
the OR automatically goes down or off when there's a crisis.
