외부 환경 변화에 의한 비 접촉 체온계의 오차 범위 측정

• Published in: Journal of the Korean Society of Integrative Medicine Vol. 8; no. 4; pp. 307 - 321
• Main Authors: 김정은, 박상웅, 최혜경, Kim, Jeongeun, Park, Sangwoong, Choi, Heakyung
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 대한통합의학회 01.12.2020
• Subjects: 예방의학; COVID-19; temperature; humidity; non-contact thermometers; distance; external environment
• ISSN: 2288-1174; 2383-9651

Purpose : A person infected by SARS-CoV2 may present various symptoms such as fever, pain in lower respiratory tract, and pneumonia. Measuring body temperature is a simple method to screen patients. However, changes in the surrounding environment may cause errors in infrared measurement. Hence, a non-contact thermometer controls this error by setting a correction value, but it is difficult to correct it for all environments. Therefore, we investigate device error values according to changes in the surrounding environment (temperature and humidity) and propose guidelines for reliable patient detection. Methods : For this study, the temperature was measured using three types of non-contact thermometers. For accurate temperature measurement, we used a water bath kept at a constant temperature. During temperature measurement, we ensured that the temperature and humidity were maintained using a thermo-hygrometer. The conditions of the surrounding environment were changed by an air conditioner, humidifier, warmer, and dehumidifier. Results : The temperature of the water bath was measured using a non-contact thermometer kept at various distances ranging from 3~10 cm. The value measured by the non-contact thermometer was then verified using a mercury thermometer, and the difference between the measured temperatures was compared. It was observed that at normal surrounding temperature (24 ℃), there was no difference between the values when the non-contact thermometer was kept at 3 cm. However, as the distance of the non-contact thermometer was increased from the water bath, the recorded temperature was significantly different compared with that of mercury thermometer. Moreover, temperature measurements were conducted at different surrounding temperatures and the results obtained significantly varied from when the thermometer was kept at 3 cm. Additionally, it was observed that the effect on temperature decreases with an increase in humidity Conclusion : In conclusion, non-contact thermometers are lower in lower temperature and dry weather in winter.