As healthcare organizations plan to provide more patients in public spaces as the COVID-19 pandemic proceeds, some facility supervisors install fever screening thermal cameras at gates as an added protection measure.
The goal: to quickly screen each visitor for high temperature and refer them to medical care if signs of trouble are detected.
Applied to a single point on a person’s skin, infrared technology can produce a rapid reading, a preselection measurement used in buildings such as hospitals and schools. People who have a high temperature should be tested again with a medical-grade thermometer.
Most thermal imaging cameras must be calibrated against a “black body,” an accessory typically sold with the camera to get a reliable surface reading. The camera indicates the difference between the subject’s default temperature and the black body.
In general, thermal imaging has been shown to accurately measure the skin’s surface temperature without being bodily nearby to the person, according to the Food and Drug Administration. It cannot recognize other signs or definitively verify COVID-19, as some infected people may be asymptomatic.
In different hospitals in different countries there are nurses appointed these day to check the temperature of each patient separately. This method id not only time consuming but it takes a lot of time too. With this method there is a risk of spreading the disease also. Between each temperature, the thermometers had to be purified, a hospital project manager told in May. If the line is longer, the less likely people are to be 6 feet apart … we had to improve the flow.
Rush University Medical Center installed infrared temperature sensing stations in March. People entering the building now follow the instructions on a tablet to correctly position their heads, then wait for a green checkmark or Red Cross to indicate their thermal analysis results.
The system detected some people who, when examined by staff, exhibited other symptoms suggesting infection, such as chills.
Despite their advantages, scanners are not foolproof, and their effectiveness may depend on external factors.
A patient wearing a hat or scarf, for example, may have a higher body temperature, just like someone who has just exercised or taken a hot shower. A person with a fever from a cold may also receive an inaccurate reading.
Also, the skin temperature is generally lower than the temperature measured orally, notes the FDA, so thermal imaging systems must be properly adjusted. And spaces where scans are taken, should be free of conditions that may inadvertently affect results: no reflective backgrounds, drafts, intense lighting, or radiant heat sources.
Precision also matters. Research advises that the area of the face that properly displays core warmth is the inner corner of the eye. It’s a very small lens; they point out, so a protected person must be very close, directly in front of the camera.
As technology becomes more mainstream, businesses need to consider privacy concerns that could arise from thermal scanners. Efforts to communicate the need, function, and data protection measures behind these tools can be critical in compliance and trust.
If you would like to learn more about fever screening thermal camera contact Sentry Communications & Security at 866-573-6879
