Temporal Artery Thermometers deliver extremely accurate measurement of patients’ core body temperature
Exergen Corporation, a global leader in infrared temperature measurement technologies for medical applications, has announced that with London and many parts of the South East of England now under strict Tier 4 restrictions and the first inoculations against the coronavirus scheduled to begin across the European Union on December 27, the requirement to ensure that temperature tests provide accurate readings has become even more important in order to distinguish the difference between a cold, flu and COVID-19.
An accurate temperature reading – such as that provided by a Temporal Artery Thermometer – can also help placate and reassure the public about the status of their health, especially with the latest COVID-19 strain – which transmits more easily than the previous variant – spreading rapidly across parts of the UK. Accurate temperature readings also reduce the pressure on NHS resources, as they help determine which patients are in need of urgent care – and which aren’t – which helps prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed unnecessarily.
A reading greater than or equal to 38°C (100.4F) is considered a fever, and a high temperature is cited by the NHS as one of the main symptoms of coronavirus. Therefore, it is imperative that thermometers measure temperature with absolute accuracy, so as not to lull patients into a false sense of security about any conditions they may or may not have.
Temporal Artery Thermometers (TATs) read the central temperature in the body by capturing the blood temperature at the temporal artery level. Scanning the forehead over the temporal artery with a temporal artery thermometer is fast and accurate. This type of thermometer is also not invasive or threatening to children or adults. The technique can be performed within two seconds without disturbing a resting patient. TATs read the infrared heat waves released by the temporal artery, which is close to the surface of the skin. These show accurate readings in a matter of seconds. They are non-invasive and can be used for new-borns, infants, toddlers, children, teenagers, adults and elderly. This makes TATs ideal for checking patients’ temperature as part of routine procedures to assess their well-being or ahead of them receiving the vaccine.
Amid the undeterred surge of infections and the mass rollout of the vaccine across the E.U., understanding the difference in accuracy between TAT and No-Touch Thermometers (infrared guns) has never been more important. A recent study to compare the accuracy of No-Touch Thermometers to TATs by Australian researchers found that No-Touch Thermometers missed five out of every six fevers. The study that was published in the American Medical Journal conducted a prospective observational study on a sample of 265 non-infectious patients at two hospitals. During the observational study when No-Touch Thermometers and TATs were used to collect the body temperature recordings, the body temperatures read below 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit, the thermometers showed similar results, but as temperatures rose above that, No-Touch Thermometers’ accuracy decreased.
In anticipation of growing demand for TAT thermometers driven through the need for temperature accuracy, Exergen recently announced that it has signed an agreement with Eden Medical for the distribution of its full line of TATs in the UK and that it has signed a marketing and distribution contract with Oxygen Care in Ireland to market both the professional series TATs as well as the retail version of Exergen’s infrared thermometer
About Exergen
Exergen Corporation, the leader in infrared temperature measurement technologies for industrial and medical applications, delivers non-invasive temperature meters with higher accuracy, ease of use, less process control and higher reliability than previously possible. With its award-winning arterial thermometer being backed up by over 87 clinical studies, Exergen is known in both the healthcare and consumer markets. The company was founded by Harvard researcher and MIT educated, Dr. Francesco Pompei, who owns more than 70 patents. Exergen Corporation is headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts, United States here the design and production of its products take place