With the U.S. in the grip of a “tri-demic” of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), new Covid variants, and the highest flu hospitalization rates in more than a decade, accurately screening for fever has never been more important. But as ERs, urgent care centers, and clinics experience a surge of patients, including a significant increase in the number of children with RSV, a new complicating consideration is how to safely take temperatures of people who are required to wear face masks.

Taking temperature is the first thing done when someone enters a healthcare setting with flu-like symptoms. If an oral thermometer is used, they face the discomfort of having to take off their mask, risking exposure to viruses and spreading illness. The Exergen TemporalScanner solves that problem because it is both a non-invasive and clinically accurate device that takes an accurate temperature with a simple scan of the forehead, allowing the patient to keep their mask in place.

“The Exergen TemporalScanner has always set the gold standard for accuracy and effectiveness in detecting fever, one of the leading symptoms of viruses, including the ‘tri-demic’ we are experiencing,” said Francesco Pompei, Ph.D., CEO of Exergen Corporation. “Now it provides a significant added benefit because the patient does not have to remove their mask to have their temperature taken.”

Dr. Pompei maintains, however, that the biggest health risk today is the use of non-contact infrared thermometers, which have been scientifically proven to be totally inaccurate in detecting fever.

“Make no mistake: the non-contact thermometers we’ve seen since the start of Covid are nothing more than ‘theater’ meant to falsely assure Americans that they can accurately screen for fever. Science, including a recent study from the FDA, definitively proves that they cannot.”

Exergen part # 850089 Rev 1