A voice controlled medical system with improved speech recognition includes a first microphone array, a second microphone array, a controller in communication with the first and second microphone arrays, and a medical device operable by the controller. The controller includes a beam module that generates a first beamed signal using signals from the first microphone array and a second beamed signal using signals from the second microphone array. The controller also includes a comparison module that compares the first and second beamed signals and determines a correlation between the first and second beamed signals. The controller also includes a voice interpreting module that identifies commands within the first and second beamed signals if the correlation is above a correlation threshold. The controller also includes an instrument control module that executes the commands to operate said medical device.