alarmZen

Data Driven ICU Alarm Management

We want to holistically improve alarm management in intensive care units. To this end, we are researching methods for quantifying alarm load and developing concepts to establish alarm data analyses as an integral part of routine intensive care medicine.

Motivation

Medical devices in intensive care units are supposed to alert nurses in case of emergencies, however, up to 99% of triggered alarms are wrong or do not require medical intervention. This can lead to staff desensitization ("alarm fatigue"), risking patient safety. In this context, data-driven, evidence-based alarm management could reduce the number of false alarms.

Innovations and perspectives

Our work is designed to allow intensive care staff to take a low-threshold, user-centered approach to effective and sustainable alarm management and to be closely involved in the design of interventions. In this way, alarms become "alarming" again, saving patient lives rather than endangering them.

Project duration

2020-01 to 2026-01

Selected publications

Wunderlich, M. M., Amende-Wolf, S., Krampe, H., Kruppa, J., Spies, C., Weiß, B., Memmert, B., Balzer, F., & Poncette, A.-S. (2023). A brief questionnaire for measuring alarm fatigue in nurses and physicians in intensive care units. Scientific Reports, 13(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-40290-7
Poncette, A.-S., Wunderlich, M. M., Spies, C., Heeren, P., Vorderwülbecke, G., Salgado, E., Kastrup, M., Feufel, M. A., & Balzer, F. (2021). Patient Monitoring Alarms in an Intensive Care Unit: Observational Study With Do-It-Yourself Instructions. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(5), e26494. https://doi.org/10.2196/26494
Wunderlich, M. M., Amende-Wolf, S., Poncette, A.-S., Krampe, H., Kruppa, J., Spies, C., & Balzer, F. (2021). Ein deutschsprachiger Fragebogen zur Messung der Alarmmüdigkeit bei Pflegekräften und Ärzt:innen auf Intensivstationen. 21. Kongress der Deutschen Interdisziplinären Vereinigung für Intensiv- und Notfallmedizin e.V., Hamburg, Germany.
Wunderlich, M. M., Poncette, A.-S., Spies, C., Heeren, P., Vorderwülbecke, G., Salgado, E., Kastrup, M., Feufel, M. A., & Balzer, F. (2021). ICU Staff’s Perception of Where (False) Alarms Originate: A Mixed Methods Study. International Anesthesia Research Society Annual Meeting, Hamburg, Germany.
Poncette, A.-S., Wunderlich, M. M., Spies, C., Heeren, P., Vorderwülbecke, G., Salgado, E., Kastrup, M., Feufel, M., & Balzer, F. (2021). Resources for a “Do-it-Yourself Analysis” of the Patient Monitoring Alarm Data from Intensive Care Units. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4560041
Poncette, A.-S., Mosch, L., Spies, C., Schmieding, M., Schiefenhövel, F., Krampe, H., & Balzer, F. (2020). Improvements in Patient Monitoring in the Intensive Care Unit: Survey Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(6), e19091. https://doi.org/10.2196/19091