What thermal scanner tool is used to detect covid

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, a number of airports have installed equipment thermal scanner or monitoring body temperature as a precautionary measure to detect any indications of viruses that may be carried by passengers. Actually, what is it thermal scanner ? How is it used in the world of health?

What is that thermal scanner ?

Source: Traveler

Thermal scanner or also known as thermography is a tool to determine the temperature distribution of an object using infrared. This tool in the form of a camera will detect the temperature by capturing it as colorful light.

Later, the light emitted from the object's temperature will be captured and shown in different colors. Cooler temperatures appear in blues, purples, and greens. Meanwhile, warmer temperatures are colored red, orange, and yellow. This tool can detect temperatures ranging from -20 ℃ to 2000 ℃ and can also capture ambient temperature changes of 0.2 ℃.

Thermal scanner using FPA (focal plane array) technology as a detector that will receive infrared signals. There are two types of detectors used in the tool thermal scanner , that is, a cooled detector and a non-cooling detector.

The difference is, detectors that have gone through the cooling process with very low temperatures have higher sensitivity and resolution. Thermal scanner it can detect temperature differences as small as 0.1 ℃ and can reach as far as 300 meters.

Not only in the fields of industry and technology, health workers have used it thermal scanner for the purposes of medical diagnostics or clinical trials. The resulting images can help doctors or researchers gather information such as metabolic activity and see changes in human cells.

Use thermal scanner in the world of health

There are many ways to measure human body temperature. One of the most common ways to do this is to use a thermometer. Unfortunately, a thermometer can only show how high the body temperature is on the surface of the skin. Therefore, thermal scanner also used to see any disturbances in the body more closely.

Human body temperature and disease are two elements that are closely related to each other. The temperature at the surface of the skin can reflect inflammation in the underlying tissue. Body temperature can also detect any abnormalities in increased or decreased blood flow due to clinical problems.

Thermography is often used to detect a number of medical conditions such as arthritis, injuries, muscle aches, and circulatory problems.

Ability thermal scanner in detecting inflammation itself was also proven in a study conducted by researchers from the University of Eastern Finland. Researchers took samples from patients who had inflammation and injury to the feet using thermal scanner .

In the results of the study, it was seen that the surface temperature of the skin on the affected part of the leg had a higher temperature and a darker color in the form of blackish red when compared to other areas. This shows that the thermograph can detect inflammation in the joints.

Sometimes this tool is used to check for possible cancers such as breast cancer. Thermography is carried out on the idea that when cancer cells multiply, they will need more blood and oxygen to grow. Therefore, if the blood flow to the tumor increases, the temperature around it will also increase.

The advantages, thermal scanner also does not emit radiation like mammography. However, mammography is still the most accurate method for detecting breast cancer. Thermography can't distinguish the cause of the temperature rise, so it is not certain that areas that appear darker are actually showing signs of cancer.

Thermography to detect viral infections

There is no research evidence that actually shows that thermal scanner can detect viruses such as COVID-19 that have spread recently. Actually, the use of this tool itself aims to see if there are passengers who have a body temperature above average. As is well known, one of the symptoms experienced by a person infected with COVID-19 is fever.

The outbreak this time is not the use of a thermal scanner for screening passengers for the first time. The use of this tool also increased during the SARS outbreak in people traveling when there was a pandemic.

But again, the accuracy still needs to be checked again. What's more, the power of the infrared system is also influenced by the state of the human body, the environment, and the tools used.

Detecting fever due to viral infection cannot be decided at that moment. There are three stages when fever occurs. The first is the onset stage when fever begins, the temperature rise is not significant enough to be detected. The second is when the fever is on the rise and is easiest to detect. The third stage is when the temperature subsides, either gradually or suddenly.

People who pass the thermal test may be in the first stage or the third stage so they are not categorized as people who have the potential to catch the virus. Plus the corona virus also has an incubation period of 14 days.

Although a thermal scanner is not a tool that can detect viruses, it is still useful for screening in several places such as airports and hospitals. The thermal test can help find out some employees or health workers with a body condition that is not well so that if disease transmission can be reduced early and those who do not pass the screening can immediately rest until they recover.