EVALUATION OF UNCERTAINTY OF INFRARED THERMOMETERS WHEN MEASURING BODY TEMPERATURE

Abstract

As we know from biophysics, infrared tympanic thermometers are easy to use and have a fast response time. They are widely used to measure human body temperature. Measurement accuracy and uncertainty are the most important performance indicators for these measuring instruments. This study evaluated the performance of two infrared tympanic thermometers, the Brown THT-3020 and the OMRON MC-510. The temperature of the temperature calibrator was changed to serve as the standard temperature of the "black body". The measurement errors for the two measuring instruments were reduced by the calibration equation. The predicted values meet the requirements of the ASTM standard. Sources of uncertainty include standard deviations of repetition at constant temperature or predicted values of the calibration equation, reference standard values, and resolution. Uncertainty analysis shows that the uncertainty of the calibration equation is the main source of combined uncertainty. The ambient temperature did not significantly affect the measured performance. The accuracy of infrared tympanic thermometers can be increased by the specified calibration equations. Keywords: infrared tympanic thermometer, metrological support, calibration equation, uncertainty, metrology