Ambient sound and light sensors can be practical, non-invasive additions to ICU monitoring systems that meaningfully improve delirium risk prediction, with sound being the strongest signal.
This study uses ambient sound and light sensors in ICUs to predict which patients will develop delirium (acute confusion). Researchers tested neural network models on data from 309 patients across 9 hospitals, finding that sound levels alone predicted delirium with 80% accuracy, and combining sound with light improved short-term predictions.