An application could replace the traditional thermometer with a smartphone without adding new hardware. A useful way to take your temperature whatever the situation in which you find yourself.
- Fever is the first symptom of many illnesses including viral illnesses and it is important to be able to take your temperature quickly and easily.
- Researchers have developed an application that can turn a smartphone into a thermometer by placing the device against the forehead.
- The accuracy of this application tested on 37 patients is comparable to that of conventional consumer thermometers.
Fever is an early symptom of many illnesses, including viral ones, such as COVID-19. It is therefore crucial to be able to measure the temperature easily and accurately. In this context, researchers from the University of Washington have developed a smartphone application that could replace the traditional thermometer.
This app uses existing thermal sensors in smartphones to measure body temperature by placing the touchscreen against the forehead.
Smartphone battery thermal sensors similar to thermometers
Existing thermal sensors in smartphones are called thermistors. They are also used in clinical grade medical thermometers. Once the data is collected, a machine learning model is used to estimate a person’s core body temperature.
Sensitivity comparable to consumer thermometers
The researchers tested the app on 37 patients in a hospital emergency department with three phone models and different accessories, such as a screen protector or a case, which helps to account for variations in circumstances. . The results of the clinical study showed that the results were comparable to those of commercial thermometers, with an average accuracy of 0.229°C and a sensitivity of 0.813 and a specificity of 0.904 for classifying fever.
The ability to take your temperature anywhere
This technology could make it possible to measure the temperature outside of health establishments, in schools, airports or even offices. Although still under development, it could benefit a large number of people, especially during a pandemic.
