Forehead, Temple and Wrist Temperature Assessment of Ethnic Groups using Infrared Technology

• Published in: Medical engineering & physics Vol. 102; p. 103777
• Main Authors: auf der Strasse, Wally, Campos, Daniel Prado, Mendonça, Celso Júnio Aguiar, Soni, Jamil Faissal, Mendes, Joaquim, Nohama, Percy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-04-2022; IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; and Caucasian skins; Black; Body Temperature; COVID-19; COVID-19 - diagnosis; Ethnicity; Forehead; Half-Black; Humans; non-contact infrared thermometer; SARS-CoV-2; screening temperature protocol; Technology; Temperature; Wrist; Young Adult; COVID-19; Body temperature; screening temperature protocol; Half-Black; non-contact infrared thermometer; Black; and Caucasian skins
• ISSN: 1350-4533; 1873-4030
• DOI: 10.1016/j.medengphy.2022.103777

•This manuscript evaluated of 289 military volunteers, in three body regions: temple, forehead and wrist, in Caucasians, Blacks and Half-Black volunteers, using an Infrared Thermometer•It was not found significant changes due to the variation of skin tones, height or weight•The results show different median temperatures in the referred anatomical region, 37.2°C in the temple, 36.8°C in the forehead, and 36.4°C in the wrist.•As opposite of what is common worldwide, the temperature should be measured in the temple to get access to the external carotid artery.
Non-contact infrared sensors are widely used as a diagnostic tool for elevated body temperature during initial screening for coronaviruses. The aim of this study was to investigate the thermal differences at three anatomical points: temple, forehead, and wrist, in the initial screening for temperature indicative of febrile and non-febrile states in skin pigmentation variations in Black, Half-Black and Caucasian skins, correlated with height and weight variables. Temperatures were obtained by means of an infrared thermometer in 289 volunteers with mean age of 18.30 ± 0.76, in a controlled environment according to Singapore Standard, SS582 part 1 and 2, normative standard IEC 80601-2-59, with standard technical protocols established by the International Organization for Standardization, ISO / TR 13154. The data were processed in MATLAB® R2021a, and data normality verified by Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, non-parametric data paired between temple / forehead / wrist were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The results show different median temperatures in these anatomical regions, 37.2°C at the temple, 36.8°C at the forehead and 36.4°C at the wrist. As the temple region presents a temperature higher than the other investigated regions and, therefore, close to the core temperature, it should be considered for the initial screening of SARS-CoV-2 when using non-contact infrared thermometers. Furthermore, no significant changes were found due to variation in skin tone, height, or weight.