Real-time experiments of ANC systems for infant incubators

This paper presents real-time experiments of applying active noise control (ANC) algorithms for infant incubators to reduce recorded neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) noise. Research shows that 10–15% of newborns spend time in NICU and high noise levels in the infant incubator result in numerous adverse health effects. The ANC system has potential benefits of generating quiet environment for newborns inside the incubators and decreasing the risk of health impairment and disability. Real-time experiments of single-channel and multiple-channel ANC structures were conducted using real recorded NICU noise samples. An average reduction of 13 dB and 17 dB are obtained by using single-channel and multiple-channel ANC systems.