The Sound of Safer Care: How Acoustic Sensing is Transforming Healthcare with Derek van der Vorst of Sound Intelligence

While most AI innovation in hospitals has centered on cameras and visual monitoring, audio offers a powerful, scalable, and privacy-preserving way to enhance patient safety, staff well-being, and care efficiency. Derek shares how Sound Intelligence has deployed its solution in over 15,000 patient rooms across Europe, focusing on three key areas:

• Staff Safety: Detecting aggressive voices and escalating behavior to prevent workplace violence before it gets out of control.
• Better Sleep: Using a “Zen Score” to measure and reduce disruptive hospital noise, improving patient recovery and staff satisfaction.
• Better Care: Expanding monitoring capabilities so a single virtual nurse can safely oversee 100+ rooms at night without being intrusive.

In this episode of Digital Health Frontiers, Caregility President & CEO Mike Brandofino sits down with Derek van der Vorst, CEO of Sound Intelligence, to explore the untapped potential of audio analytics in healthcare.

Mike and Derek also discuss how acoustic monitoring complements cameras and sensors, supports nurse efficiency, and opens new possibilities for detecting medical conditions like sleep apnea or epileptic seizures. With edge-based processing and no recordings stored, this technology delivers real-time insights without compromising privacy.

Whether you’re a hospital executive, nurse leader, or innovator in virtual care, this episode shines a light on how sound can play a defining role in the future of virtual care.