In an article from Contemporary Pediatrics, Andrew J Schuman, MD explores the history of clinical thermometry and the new tools that are available today.

There are a number of recent studies that demonstrate today’s parents tend to over-diagnose fevers when they rely solely on touching their child. It is “important for pediatricians to instruct new parents regarding how to take a temperature, as well as recommend a temporal artery forehead thermometer for home use and recommend an age-dependent site for temperature measurement.”

Schuman goes on to discuss how Exergen has helped both pediatricians and parents to determine fast and reliable results.  Under the helm of Francesco Pompei, Exergen introduced infrared temperature measurement and the TAT-5000 medical temporal artery thermometer in 2000.  “Now nearly 16 years later, the company has sold more than 400,000 devices and the thermometer is being used by over half of pediatric practices in the United States.”

The TAT-5000 measures the patient’s core body temperature, uses dual scanners, records over 1000 readings per second, it produces an audible click as the device registers a higher reading, it can create an internal “heat balance” algorithm, it has an LED screen, and it has a lifetime warranty.

Exergen has also created the TAT-2000C.  This model uses the same technology as the TAT-5000, but is made for home use. It can store up to 8 temperatures, it has an illuminated screen, parents can silence the TAT-2000C so it doesn’t wake a sick child who is sleeping, and it has a 1-year warranty. “Exergen worked with Dr. Keith Powell and 15 pediatric practices affiliated with the Children’s Hospital Medical Center of Akron, Ohio, to establish a normal upper limit of measurements for its temporal artery thermometers. Powell recorded 2300 temperatures from children to determine the ‘threshold’ for fever….(see the Temporal Artery Threshold Measurements for Fever by Age table.)”

Today we are fortunate to stand on the shoulders of the many physician and scientists who helped us to obtain accurate readings, and to assist physicians and parents in easily determining temperatures in a matter of seconds.