Categories
Blog

Thermometer guns used to screen for coronavirus are ‘notoriously’ unreliable experts say, warning about improper use and false temperatures

February 15, 2020 |  | Business Insider | source

A medical worker holds a thermometer to check a passenger’s temperature at a checkpoint in Anhui province, China. Reuters

“The thermometer guns used in these screenings are “notoriously not accurate and reliable,” since many screeners hold them at the wrong distance or use them in the wrong environments, experts told The New York Times.”

“..Airports, Chinese cities, and even Apple stores have instituted temperature checks to identify potential patients and prevent the virus’s spread. To do this, many governments and businesses rely on thermometer guns — devices that use infrared sensors to measure a person’s surface temperature without touching their skin.

“These devices are notoriously not accurate and reliable,” Dr. James Lawler, a medical expert at the University of Nebraska’s Global Center for Health Security, told The New York Times. “Some of it is quite frankly for show.”

“…Temperature screenings can flag people who aren’t infected.

“They could have been exercising, they could be taking certain drugs,” Jim Seffrin, an infrared devices expert at the Infraspection Institute in New Jersey, told The New York Times. “A person who’s been trying to catch a flight in an airport for which they are late — they may have run down a concourse.”

Link To Read Full Article


 

February 16, 2020 | By Bruce Y. Lee |  Forbes 

“Are you hot?

That’s essentially what those thermometer guns and other similar infrared body temperature measuring devices are trying to determine. You may have noticed increased use of such devices at airports and other checkpoints with the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. The purpose of these devices is to measure your body temperature from a bit of a distance, when sticking a thermometer in everyone’s mouths or rear ends would be impractical, inappropriate, and potentially a bit disgusting.

The trouble is these thermal detection devices can be a bit like online dating. You can’t always believe what you are seeing or know what you are getting. It’s not clear how well these devices have been tested for accuracy. Even if these devices have been tested in laboratories, the real world can be a lot more chaotic and variable. The accuracy of the devices may depend heavily on how they are used such as how far the device is from you, where exactly the device is pointed, and how long and steadily it is held until the reading registers. Heck, if Pop Tart boxes include instructions that have to say, “Remove pastry from pouch,” (as comedian Brian Regan has pointed out), you can imagine how many people might not use a thermometer gun or other thermal reading devices correctly.”

Link To Read Full Article

 

 


 

Reference:

 

Link To Infraredcameras.com Product Specifications

EMC Statement:

“This device has been tested and homologated in accordance with EN60601-1-2:2007 for EMC. This does not guarantee in any way that the device will not be affected by electromagnetic interference. Avoid using the device in high electromagnetic environment.”

 


 

Link To OSHA Laser Hazards

Link To Health Risks from Laser & Safety Precautions to avid biological hazards of laser radiation

Link To Laser Hazard Distances

Link To Laser Safety Facts

 


 

Link To  Infrared thermometer NOT FOR HUMAN

 

Link To 10 Best Thermometers for Coronavirus

 

 


 

May 22, 2020 

USS Portland (LPD-27) successfully disabled an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a Solid State Laser. US Navy Video https://news.usni.org/2020/05/22/vide…

Link To Video