Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the rapid adoption and rollout of thermal camera-based Infrared Thermography (IRT) systems for fever detection. These systems use facial infrared emissions to detect individuals exhibiting an elevated core-body temperature, which is present in many symptomatic presentations of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Despite the rollout of these systems, there is little independent research supporting their efficacy. The primary objective of this study was to assess the precision and accuracy of IRT screening solutions in a real-world scenario. The method used was a single-centre, observational study investigating the agreement of three IRT systems compared to digital oral thermometer measurements of body temperature. Over 5 days, 107 measurements were taken from individuals wearing facial masks. During each entry, two measurements of the subject’s body temperature were made from each system to allow for the evaluation of the measurement precision, followed by an oral thermometer measurement. Each participant also answered a short demographic survey. This study found that the precision of the IRT systems was wider than 0.3 °C claimed accuracy of two of the systems. This study also found that the IRT measurements were only weakly correlated to those of the oral temperature. Additionally, it was found that demographic characteristics (age, gender, and mask-type) impacted the measurement error. This study indicates that using IRT systems in front-line scenarios poses a potential risk, where a lack of measurement accuracy could possibly allow febrile individuals to pass through undetected. Further research is required into methods which could increase accuracy and improve the techniques viability.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the rapid adoption and rollout of thermal camera-based Infrared Thermography (IRT) systems for fever detection
In order to address this research gap, the current study investigated the use of three different IRT systems from different manufacturers in a real-world setting, with a community mask-wearing population
Our study found that demographic characteristics had a significant impact on the measurement error of the systems, this was not consistent across the three IRT systems
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the rapid adoption and rollout of thermal camera-based Infrared Thermography (IRT) systems for fever detection. These systems use facial infrared emissions to detect individuals exhibiting an elevated core-body temperature, which is present in many symptomatic presentations of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). To ensure that a device meets appropriate levels of quality, accuracy and safety, strict medical equipment certification standards must be met by the device prior to its use in a clinical setting The bodies administering these standards for medical devices include the Therapeutic Goods Authority in Australia, the Food and Drug Administration in the USA and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in the UK5. Many of the deployed fever screening solutions have not yet been assessed by regulatory agencies
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