At the start of the pandemic, Tampa General Hospital introduced an AI-powered screening system that uses camera-embedded devices stationed at the hospital’s six visitor entrances. Together, the tools can analyze facial attributes such as sweating and discoloration as well as data from a thermal scan, The Wall Street Journal reports.
In many cases, the technology’s resulting efficiencies can reduce the number of employees handling fever-detection duties and direct them to other critical tasks.
Deployment of a thermal imaging camera at Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin, Vt., “greatly decreases the time it takes for [visitors] to enter, eliminates the need to remove their masks, and decreases the time they spend in close proximity to our staff, which keeps everyone safer,” Robert Patterson, the hospital’s vice president of human resources and clinical operations, told Vermont Business Magazine in June.
Pros and Cons of Infrared Thermal Cameras in a Healthcare Setting
Despite their benefits, the scanners aren’t foolproof, and their effectiveness can hinge on external factors.
A patient wearing a hat or head scarf, for instance, could have a higher body temperature, as could someone who just exercised or took a warm shower. Someone with a fever coming in from the cold may also receive an inaccurate read.
Moreover, skin temperature is usually lower than a temperature measured orally, the FDA notes, so thermal imaging systems must be adjusted properly. And the spaces where scans take place should be void of conditions that can unintentionally affect outcomes: no reflective backgrounds, drafts, strong lighting or radiant heat sources.
Precision also matters. Research suggests the region of the face that best reflects core temperature is the inner corner of the eye, a trio professors from Deakin University in Australia wrote in May in a post for The Conversation. This is a very small target, they note, so a screened individual must be very close, directly facing the camera.
As the technology becomes more commonplace, organizations must consider privacy concerns that could result from thermal scanners. Efforts to communicate the necessity, function and data protection measures behind these tools can be a critical step toward compliance and trust.