Temperature monitoring using thermal imaging cameras

Abstract

An example system includes a thermal imaging camera, a memory, and processing circuitry coupled to the thermal imaging camera and the memory. The processing circuitry is configured to obtain a core temperature of a patient and obtain a first thermal image associated with the patient. The processing circuitry is configured to determine, based on the first thermal image, a first sensed temperature of a location associated with the patient. The processing circuitry is configured to determine a core temperature delta between the core temperature and the first sensed temperature. The processing circuitry is configured to obtain a second thermal image associated with the patient. The processing circuitry is configured to determine, based on the second thermal image, a second sensed temperature. The processing circuitry is configured to determine, based on the second sensed temperature and the core temperature delta, a measured value of the core temperature.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 080,506, filed October 26, 2020, entitled "Temperature Monitoring with an Athermal Camera," the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This disclosure pertains to the monitoring of subjects. Background Technology

[0003] Thermal imaging cameras are currently used to monitor subjects in high-density, crowded environments such as airports and waiting rooms. These cameras can operate in a spot-check mode, measuring the body temperature of one subject at a time at a time. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Generally, this disclosure relates to apparatus, systems, and techniques for non-contact monitoring of patient temperature in hospital or other clinical settings via a thermal imaging camera. In some examples, the apparatus, systems, and techniques described herein can be used to continuously monitor patient temperature. For example, a thermal imaging camera can be used to determine a measurement of a patient's core temperature. When providing a measurement of a patient's core temperature, the apparatus, systems, and techniques of this disclosure can take into account patient movement relative to the thermal imaging camera, environmental factors (such as ambient air temperature), and / or the patient's physiological factors.

[0005] In some examples, a system includes a thermal imaging camera, a memory, and a processing circuitry coupled to the thermal imaging camera and the memory, the processing circuitry being configured to: acquire a patient's core temperature; acquire a first thermal image associated with the patient via the thermal imaging camera; determine a first sensed temperature at a location associated with the patient based on the first thermal image; determine a core temperature increment between the core temperature and the first sensed temperature; acquire a second thermal image associated with the patient via the thermal imaging camera; determine a second sensed temperature at that location based on the second thermal image; determine a measured value of the core temperature based on the second sensed temperature and the core temperature increment; and output the measured value of the core temperature.

[0006] In some examples, a method includes: acquiring a patient's core temperature via a processing circuitry system; acquiring a first thermal image associated with the patient via the processing circuitry system; determining a first sensed temperature at a location associated with the patient via the processing circuitry system and based on the first thermal image; determining a core temperature increment between the core temperature and the first sensed temperature via the processing circuitry system; acquiring a second thermal image associated with the patient via the processing circuitry system; determining a second sensed temperature at that location via the processing circuitry system and based on the second thermal image; determining a measured value of the core temperature via the processing circuitry system and based on the second sensed temperature and the core temperature increment; and outputting the measured value of the core temperature.

[0007] In some examples, a system is disclosed that includes a thermal imaging camera, a depth camera, a memory, and a processing circuitry coupled to the thermal imaging camera and the memory. The processing circuitry is configured to: at a first time, acquire a first distance between the depth camera or at least one of the thermal imaging camera and a patient; control a first angle associated with a region of interest (ROI) of the thermal imaging camera based on the first distance; acquire a first thermal image associated with the patient via the thermal imaging camera; determine a first sensed temperature at a location associated with the patient based on the first thermal image; at a second time other than the first time, acquire a second distance between the depth camera or at least one of the thermal imaging camera and the patient via the depth camera; control a second angle associated with the ROI of the thermal imaging camera based on the second distance; acquire a second thermal image associated with the patient via the thermal imaging camera; and determine a second sensed temperature at a location associated with the patient based on the second thermal image.

[0008] In some examples, a method includes: acquiring a first distance between a depth camera or a thermal imaging camera and a patient at a first time via a processing circuitry system; controlling a first angle associated with a region of interest (ROI) of the thermal imaging camera based on the first distance via the processing circuitry system; acquiring a first thermal image associated with the patient via the thermal imaging camera via the processing circuitry system; determining a first sensed temperature at a location associated with the patient via the processing circuitry system and based on the first thermal image; acquiring a second distance between the depth camera or the thermal imaging camera and the patient at a second time different from the first time via the processing circuitry system; controlling a second angle associated with the ROI of the thermal imaging camera based on the second distance via the processing circuitry system; acquiring a second thermal image associated with the patient via the thermal imaging camera via the processing circuitry system; and determining a second sensed temperature at that location via the processing circuitry system and based on the second thermal image.

[0009] This summary is intended to provide an overview of the subject matter described in this disclosure. This summary is not intended to provide an exclusive or exhaustive interpretation of the devices and methods described in detail in the accompanying drawings and the following description. Details of one or more aspects of this disclosure are set forth in the following drawings and description. Attached Figure Description

[0010] Figure 1 This is a conceptual diagram illustrating the monitoring of a patient's temperature using a thermal imaging camera.

[0011] Figure 2 This is a block diagram of an exemplary computing device.

[0012] Figure 3 This is a graph illustrating an example of continuous measurements of a patient's temperature.

[0013] Figure 4 This is a graph illustrating an exemplary calibration technique according to this disclosure.

[0014] Figure 5 This is a conceptual diagram illustrating exemplary temperature sensing at different locations on a patient's face.

[0015] Figure 6 This is a conceptual diagram illustrating an exemplary location used to sense a patient's temperature.

[0016] Figure 7 This is a graph illustrating the addition of temperature increments to the sensed temperature according to exemplary techniques of this disclosure.

[0017] Figure 8 This is a conceptual diagram illustrating an exemplary thermal imaging camera technology.

[0018] Figure 9 This is a conceptual diagram illustrating another exemplary thermal imaging camera technology.

[0019] Figure 10 This is a concept diagram illustrating an example of monitoring the temperature in a patient's region of interest.

[0020] Figures 11A-11C This is a conceptual diagram illustrating ROI temperature sensing without adjusting the angle associated with the region of interest (ROI) based on distance.

[0021] Figures 12A-12C This is a conceptual diagram illustrating the use of a depth camera for ROI temperature sensing.

[0022] Figure 13 This is a conceptual diagram illustrating an exemplary relationship between the ROI and the distance from the thermal imaging camera.

[0023] Figure 14This is a conceptual diagram illustrating another exemplary relationship between the ROI and the distance from the thermal imaging camera.

[0024] Figure 15 This is a conceptual diagram illustrating the exemplary differences between changing the perspective associated with ROI and not changing the perspective associated with ROI according to the technology disclosed herein.

[0025] Figure 16 This is an instruction on how to use. Figure 14 The graph shows the temperature of an exemplary ROI sensed by fixed and scaled ROIs.

[0026] Figure 17 This is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary temperature monitoring technology.

[0027] Figure 18 This is a flowchart illustrating another exemplary temperature monitoring technology. Detailed Implementation

[0028] The exemplary apparatus and systems described herein include a thermal imaging camera configured to capture thermal images of locations associated with the patient, such as on a patient or on an object (e.g., clothing, sheets, blankets, etc.) in direct or indirect contact with the patient. The location can be selected such that the temperature at that location varies as a function of the patient's core temperature. A processing circuitry system is configured to determine a measurement of the patient's core temperature based on the thermal image. For some patient conditions, such as those caused by COVID-19, techniques for automatically, continuously, and robustly recording patient temperature without physical contact or even entering the same room as the patient may be useful in some environments, such as clinical settings. While the techniques of this disclosure are discussed primarily with reference to clinical settings, these techniques can be applied to other environments, such as nursing homes, schools, airplanes, cruise ships, airports, or any other area where personnel can be monitored.

[0029] Temperature can be an important indicator of a patient's condition. For example, one of the symptoms of many viral, bacterial, or other infections can be an elevated core temperature. Because some patient conditions can be highly contagious, minimizing the amount of physical contact between clinicians and patients with such conditions (or potentially with such conditions) can be useful. According to the apparatus, system, and technique of this disclosure, a patient's core temperature can be continuously monitored without requiring frequent physical contact between the clinician and the patient. Although "patient" is referred to generally throughout the specification, a patient can be any subject in any environment where contactless temperature monitoring may be useful.

[0030] Figure 1This is a conceptual diagram illustrating the monitoring of a patient's temperature via an exemplary thermal imaging camera. The thermal imaging camera 10 is configured to monitor the temperature of patient 2 at a location associated with patient 2, such as on patient 2 (e.g., on a skin surface, in a body cavity visible to the thermal imaging camera 10, etc.) or on an object in direct or indirect contact with the patient (e.g., clothing, sheets, blankets, etc.). The location is selected such that the temperature at that location changes with the core temperature of patient 2. As a result, the temperature at that location can indicate the core temperature of patient 2. Core temperature can refer to, for example, the temperature of one or more internal organs of patient 2, such as, but not limited to, the patient 2's heart, liver, brain, or blood.

[0031] For example, thermal imaging camera 10 can monitor the temperature of patient 2 on the surface of patient 2's face. In various examples, thermal imaging camera 10 can sense the temperature of patient 2 at locations such as near the tear duct at location 4, the cheek at location 6, below the nose at location 12, or any other exposed skin location on patient 2 such as the lips, forehead, etc. As used herein, the face can be any exposed skin on patient 2's head. In some examples, the location can be any exposed skin of patient 2 (e.g., not just the face), such as exposed skin on patient 2's arms, neck, legs, torso, hands, and / or feet. In some examples, the sensed temperature at a location (such as location 4) may correspond better to patient 2's actual core temperature than other locations associated with patient 2 (such as patient 2's hands).

[0032] In some examples, the location associated with patient 2 can be a point, such as a single pixel that can be represented by an image captured by thermal imaging camera 10. In other examples, the location can be a region of interest, such as multiple pixels that can be represented by an image captured by thermal imaging camera 10.

[0033] The thermal imaging camera 10, also referred to as a thermal graphics camera or thermal imaging camera, can be configured to create images using infrared radiation. The thermal imaging camera 10 is communicatively coupled to the computing device 14 via a link 16. Link 16 can be a wired, wireless, or optical connection. While the technology of this disclosure is generally discussed with respect to the computing device 14 and the thermal imaging camera 10, in some examples, the technology of this disclosure can be performed by the thermal imaging camera 10 without the computing device 14. In some examples, the thermal imaging camera 10 may include a depth camera 8 and / or another camera 15, as will be discussed later in this disclosure.

[0034] By monitoring the temperature at location 4 via thermal imaging camera 10, computing device 14 can determine the patient's core temperature over time through continuous measurements.

[0035] Figure 2This is a functional block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a computing device 14 configured to execute the techniques of this disclosure. Figure 2 In some examples, the technical device 14 includes a processing circuitry system 200, a memory 202, a user interface (UI) 204, a communication circuitry system 206, a display 210, and a speaker 216. In some examples, the computing device 14 may be part of or include the thermal imaging camera 10 and / or the depth camera 8. In some examples, the computing device 14 may be a dedicated hardware device having dedicated software for programming, controlling, and / or receiving sensed temperature from the thermal imaging camera 10. In some examples, the computing device 14 may be a dedicated hardware device having dedicated software for programming, controlling, and / or receiving sensed depth from the depth camera 8. Alternatively, the computing device 14 may be a medical computing device that processes sensed data such as vital signs for display via the display 210 or audible presentation via the speaker 216. In some examples, computing device 14 may be an off-the-shelf computing device, such as a laptop computer or smartphone running a mobile application that enables computing device 14 to program, control, and / or receive sensed temperature from thermal imaging camera 10 and / or sensed depth from depth camera 8.

[0036] Memory 202 is configured to store thermal images captured by thermal imaging camera 10 in thermal image 212. Memory 202 is further configured to store reference temperature increments in reference temperature increment 214, which will be described in more detail below. Exemplary reference temperature increments include, but are not limited to, core temperature increments, facial temperature increments, clothing temperature increments, bedding temperature increments, or other temperature increments.

[0037] In some examples, the user of computing device 14 may be a clinician, such as a doctor, nurse, or other healthcare worker. In some examples, display 210 is configured to display a measurement of the core temperature of patient 2 determined by processing circuitry system 200, under the control of processing circuitry system 200. In addition to displaying the core temperature measurement, or instead of displaying the core temperature measurement, in some examples, a speaker 216, which may include any suitable noise generation circuitry system, may output an audible representation of the core temperature measurement of patient 2.

[0038] Processing circuit system 200 may include any combination of integrated circuit systems, discrete logic circuit systems, analog circuit systems (such as one or more microprocessors), digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). In some examples, processing circuit system 200 may include multiple components, such as one or more microprocessors, one or more DSPs, one or more ASICs, or one or more FPGAs, as well as any combination of other discrete or integrated logic circuit systems and / or analog circuit systems.

[0039] Memory 202 may store program instructions, which may include one or more program modules executable by processing circuitry system 200. When executed by processing circuitry system 200, such program instructions enable processing circuitry system 200 and computing device 14 to provide the functions attributed to them herein. The program instructions may be contained in software, firmware, and / or RAMware. Memory 202 may include any volatile, non-volatile, magnetic, optical, or electrical medium, such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, or any other digital medium.

[0040] In some examples, the processing circuitry system 200 of the computing device 14 may be configured to provide some or all of the functions attributable to the computing device 14, the thermal imaging camera 10, the depth camera 8, and / or another camera 15.

[0041] Figure 3 This is a graph illustrating an example of continuous measurements of a patient's temperature. Figure 3 In the example, line 20 indicates that it is based on... Figure 1 The thermal imaging camera 10 captures images, the processing circuitry system 200 of the computing device 14 determines the sensed temperature of patient 2 at a location associated with patient 2. It can be seen that, in this example, the temperature is sensed continuously over time, such as during patient 2's hospitalization.

[0042] In some examples, the thermal imaging camera 10 can sense a temperature of patient 2 that may differ from the patient 2's core temperature. For example, the thermal imaging camera 10 can sense a temperature at location 4 (or other locations, such as location 6 or location 12) associated with patient 2, which may be higher or lower than the patient 2's actual core temperature. The difference between the temperature sensed at location 4 and the patient 2's core temperature can be referred to as the core temperature increment. In some examples, the thermal imaging camera 10 can sense the temperature at location 4 simultaneously or within a relatively short period of time (e.g., less than 200 seconds) of sensing the patient 2's actual core temperature. The processing circuitry system 200 of the computing device 14 can use the core temperature increment to calibrate the sensed temperature from the thermal imaging camera 10.

[0043] The processing circuitry system 200 can use any suitable technology to determine the core temperature of patient 2, such as receiving the core temperature of patient 2 from a clinician or a patient monitoring device. For example, a clinician, together with or with the aid of a patient monitoring device, can use any suitable technology to measure the core temperature of patient 2, such as, but not limited to, using a thermometer or implantable temperature sensor introduced into the patient's rectum, ear, armpit, or mouth. The measured core temperature may be referred to as the actual core temperature. In some examples, this core temperature may be obtained, for example, during intermittent spot checks performed by a clinician in a hospital, or in other examples, only when patient 2 first lies in a hospital bed or is admitted. The clinician can obtain the core temperature via UI 204 ( Figure 2 The actual core temperature can be manually input into the computing device 14, or the processing circuitry system 200 can automatically receive the actual core temperature from the patient monitoring device. In either example, the processing circuitry system 200 can store the core temperature in the memory 202 for continuous temperature monitoring of the patient 2. For example, the processing circuitry system 200 can use the known difference between the sensing thermal imaging camera temperature at that point and the known core temperature, which could be, for example, the last measured value of the patient 2's core temperature stored in the memory 202.

[0044] Figure 4 This is a graph illustrating an exemplary calibration technique. The core temperature of patient 2 is determined at time T, and the processing circuitry system 200 receives and stores the actual core temperature. The processing circuitry system 200 also determines the sensed temperature of patient 2 at location 4 from the thermal image captured by the thermal imaging camera 10, which is shown as sensed temperature 32. In this example, the actual core temperature of patient 2 is higher than the sensed temperature determined based on the thermal image from the thermal imaging camera 10; the difference is a core temperature increment 34. The processing circuitry system 200 determines the core temperature increment 34 and stores it in a reference temperature increment 214. Figure 2In some examples, the relationship between the actual core temperature of patient 2 and the sensed temperature of patient 2 at location 4 can be linear. In other examples, the relationship between the actual core temperature of patient 2 and the sensed temperature of patient 2 at location 4 can be non-linear. For example, the relationship between the actual core temperature of patient 2 and the sensed temperature of patient 2 at location 4 can vary based on either the actual core temperature of patient 2 or the sensed temperature of patient 2 at location 4. After determining the core temperature increment 34 and during subsequent temperature monitoring of patient 2 using the thermal imaging camera 10, the processing circuitry system 200 calibrates the sensed temperature by adding at least the core temperature increment 34 to the sensed temperature 32 to determine a measured value of the core temperature, such as a calibrated core temperature 30. Thus, the measured value of the core temperature is an indication of the core temperature determined without the need to actually measure the core temperature of patient 2 using a technique that involves direct physical contact with patient 2 (e.g., a thermometer introduced into the rectum, ear, armpit, or mouth of patient 2). For example, by using the known difference (such as core temperature increment 34) between the sensed temperature of patient 2 at location 4 (or another location associated with patient 2) and the actual core temperature at a given time point, the measured value of the core temperature at a later time point can be determined based on the sensed temperature of the patient at a later time point and the known difference, wherein the sensed temperature is determined based on one or more thermal images from thermal imaging camera 10 without physically placing the temperature sensing device in contact with patient 2.

[0045] In some examples, computing device 14 may output a representation of the calibrated core temperature 30 or an alarm associated with the calibrated core temperature 30 to a clinician, for example, via display 210, speaker 216, UI 204, or communication circuitry 206, to provide a visual, auditory, and / or tactile representation or alarm regarding the calibrated core temperature 30. In some examples, the output representation of the calibrated core temperature 30 may be a numerical value of the patient 2's core temperature, one or more words indicating the temperature (e.g., low, normal, and / or elevated relative to a predetermined temperature threshold), a color that changes as a function of temperature (e.g., a red shading indicating a temperature greater than or equal to a threshold (e.g., 101 degrees Fahrenheit) and a green shading indicating a temperature less than a threshold), or any other suitable display that can convey the measured value of the core temperature to the user. In some examples, computing device 14 may output representations of both the calibrated core temperature 30 and the sensed temperature 32 to a clinician.

[0046] In some examples, the actual core temperature of patient 2 may be lower than the sensed temperature 32 determined using thermal imaging camera 10. In such cases, processing circuitry 200 can subtract the core temperature increment 34 from the sensed temperature, or add a negative core temperature increment to the sensed temperature, to determine a measurement of the core temperature from the sensed temperature 32. Processing circuitry 200 can continuously add (or subtract) the core temperature increment 34 to the sensed temperature 32 to provide a measurement of the core temperature of patient 2. If a clinician or device performs another check of the actual core temperature of patient 2 and provides that actual core temperature to processing circuitry 200 (e.g., via UI 204), processing circuitry 200 of computing device 14 can update the core temperature increment 34 and use the updated core temperature increment 34 to determine subsequent measurements of the core temperature of patient 2. For example, processing circuitry 200 of computing device 14 can replace the core temperature increment 34 with the updated core temperature increment in memory 202. In another example, the processing circuitry system 200 of the computing device 14 can determine the average, median, or mode of the updated core temperature increment and the past core temperature increment, and use the average, median, or mode of the core temperature increment to determine the measured value of the patient 2's core temperature.

[0047] In some examples, thermal imaging camera 10 may be pointed at patient 2, and thermal imaging camera 10 or computing device 14 may determine a map of sensed temperatures across patient 2's face and / or other areas of patient 2 (e.g., one or more limbs) based on thermal images from thermal imaging camera 10. In examples where the mapped area of ​​patient 2 includes the face, this map may be referred to as a facial temperature map, or more generally as a temperature map in other examples. In some examples, thermal imaging camera 10 or computing device 14 may determine a map of all differences between the facial (or sensed) temperature map and the actual core temperature to produce a map of core temperature increments (“core temperature increment map”). Processing circuitry system 200 may store the core temperature increment map in memory 202 and use the core temperature increment map to determine a measurement of patient 2's core temperature based on thermal images of any part of patient 2's face (or other parts) and the core temperature increment between that part of patient 2's face (or other patient parts) and the actual core temperature of patient 2.

[0048] The temperature of the patient's face may not be constant, but may vary depending on the location. Figure 5This is a conceptual diagram illustrating exemplary temperature sensing at different locations on patient 2's face. For example, thermal imaging camera 10 can sense a temperature of 35.2°C (95.4°F) at location 40 near patient 2's tear duct. Thermal imaging camera 10 can sense a temperature of 34.6°C (94.3°F) at location 42, also near patient 2's tear duct. Thermal imaging camera 10 can sense a temperature of 30.6°C (87.1°F) at location 44 on patient 2's nose. Thermal imaging camera 10 can sense a temperature of 33.9°C (93.0°F) at location 46 on patient 2's forehead. Thermal imaging camera 10 can sense a temperature of 33.2°C (91.8°F) at location 48 on patient 2's cheek. Therefore, the sensed temperature can vary based on the location where thermal imaging camera 10 senses patient 2's temperature. For example, the difference between the sensed temperatures at location 40 and location 42 could be 0.6°C (1.1°F). The difference between the sensed temperatures at positions 40 and 44 can be 4.6°C (8.3°F). The difference between the sensed temperatures at positions 40 and 48 can be almost 2°C (3.6°F).

[0049] In some examples, the thermal imaging camera 10 may be in a fixed position or may move automatically or manually within a specific range of locations in a particular environment (e.g., a patient ward). In some cases, depending on the patient's position, locations such as position 4 may be obscured from the viewpoint of the thermal imaging camera 10 and therefore may be only partially visible or not visible at all in the thermal image captured by the thermal imaging camera 10. For example, as Figure 6 As shown, patient 2 can move from position 50 (e.g., supine position) to position 52, so that they are lying on their side. While position 4 is within the line of sight of thermal imaging camera 10 when patient 2 is in position 50, position 4 may be invisible to thermal imaging camera 10 when patient 2 is in position 52. However, other parts of patient 2's face may still be within the line of sight of thermal imaging camera 10 when patient 2 is in position 52. For example, position 6 may still be within the line of sight of thermal imaging camera 10.

[0050] The computing device 14 can store information indicating the relationship between the sensed temperatures at position 4 and position 6 based on, for example, a thermal mapping of the patient 2's face. Thus, even after the patient 2 moves from position 50 to position 52 (or moves between two other positions that cause a particular sensed position to be partially or completely obscured from the view of the thermal imaging camera 10), the processing circuitry system 200 of the computing device 14 can determine a measurement of the patient 2's core temperature based on images from the thermal imaging camera 10. By enabling the processing circuitry system 200 to determine the core temperature measurement even after the patient 2 has moved, the technology of this disclosure facilitates continuous and non-contact monitoring of the patient 2's core temperature. In this way, the clinician or device may not need to re-examine the patient 2's core temperature, and the processing circuitry system 200 may not need to determine a new facial temperature increment simply because the patient's movement has caused position 4 to be out of the view of the thermal imaging camera 10. For example, the processing circuitry system 200 of computing device 14 can determine a temperature map across the face of patient 2 at a specific time, such that environmental conditions are the same or nearly the same, and at multiple locations on face 2 (e.g., at two or more discrete points such as the tip of the nose, lacrimal duct, and chin, or at areas such as the entire face, cheeks, forehead, and nose, or at two or more regions of interest), and find the relationship between each of the multiple locations. The temperature difference between two locations on the face of patient 2 can be referred to as the facial temperature increment. In some examples, the processing circuitry system 200 can determine, for example, that location 4 is 2°C higher than location 6 based on information stored in memory 202. Therefore, when patient 2 moves from location 50 to location 52 and the thermal imaging camera 10 is now sensing the temperature at location 6, the processing circuitry system 200 can add this facial temperature increment of 2°C to the sensed temperature at location 6 to determine the measured temperature at location 4.

[0051] While this article primarily discusses temperature maps across the face of patient 2, in some examples, the processing circuitry system 200 may determine temperature maps at any of several locations associated with the patient, rather than across the face of patient 2. For example, the processing circuitry system 200 may determine temperature maps across any exposed skin (e.g., hands, arms, neck, and / or face) of the patient within the line of sight of the thermal imaging camera 10. In another example, the processing circuitry system 200 may determine temperature maps across clothing, blankets, sheets, and / or exposed skin of patient 2.

[0052] For example, the processing circuitry system 200 can respond to movement of the patient 2 and determine the facial temperature increment between position 4 and position 6 on the patient 2's face based on a stored temperature map of the patient 2's face. For example, the processing circuitry system 200 can analyze images from thermal imaging camera 10, depth camera 8, and / or another camera 15 to determine if the patient 2 has moved. In some examples, the processing circuitry system can use image analysis to determine features of the patient 2's face and can determine that the patient has moved based on features of the patient 2's face that have moved in an image when compared with previous images. The processing circuitry system 200 can also determine a measurement of the temperature at position 4 based on the facial temperature increment and the sensed temperature at position 6. In some examples, the processing circuitry system 200 of the computing device 14 can determine a core temperature measurement based on a measurement of the core temperature at position 6 on the patient 2's face and the core temperature increment, and output the core temperature measurement to a device such as a display, speaker, and / or care station.

[0053] Figure 7 This is a graph illustrating the addition of facial temperature increments to a sensing temperature to determine a core temperature measurement using exemplary techniques according to this disclosure. Figure 7 In the example, the processing circuitry system 200 determines the sensed temperature at location 6 from the thermal image of the thermal imaging camera 10, and can add a facial temperature increment 64 to the sensed temperature at location 6 (or subtract the facial temperature increment 64 from the sensed temperature) to estimate the temperature of the patient 2 at location 4.

[0054] In some examples, the processing circuitry 200 can use the core temperature to calibrate the sensed temperature at location 6, as described above. Figure 4 The discussion focuses on, rather than estimating, the temperature of patient 2 at location 4. In some examples, the processing circuitry 200 or the thermal imaging camera 10 can determine a graph of all differences from the sensed facial temperature to the actual core temperature. In such examples, the processing circuitry 200 or the thermal imaging camera 10 can calibrate any point on patient 2's face to determine a measurement of patient 2's core temperature.

[0055] In some examples, the processing circuitry system 200 of computing device 14 can determine the average, median, or mode of sensed temperatures across the face of patient 2 at a given time from a given thermal image. The processing circuitry system 200 can determine the difference between the actual core temperature and the average, median, or mode of the sensed temperatures to calibrate the core temperature determined based on the thermal image. In some examples, computing device 14 can remove irrelevant sensed temperatures from the determination of the average, median, or mode. For example, the processing circuitry system 200 can remove sensed temperatures outside a predetermined range, such as those between approximately the 5th–35th percentile and the 65th–95th percentile (e.g., the 25th–75th percentile) of the sensed temperature.

[0056] By removing irrelevant sensed temperatures, the obtained core temperature measurement for patient 2 can be more stable.

[0057] Although Figures 3-7 The description primarily references the determination of the sensed temperature at a location on patient 2's face; however, in other examples, the location associated with the patient could be somewhere other than the face. For example, as... Figure 8 As shown, in some examples, the thermal imaging camera 10 can sense the temperature of the patient 2 at a location (such as location 17) on the clothing 68 that is in contact with the patient 2. Similarly, for Figure 4 and Figure 7 For example, the processing circuitry system 200 or the thermal imaging camera 10 can determine a graph of the sensed temperature on the clothing 68 in contact with the patient 2, or a graph of the sensed temperature on the clothing 68 in contact with the patient 2 and the patient 2's face. The processing circuitry system 200 can determine the clothing temperature increment between location 17 and other locations (e.g., location 4), or it can determine the temperature increment between location 17 and the measured core temperature of the patient 2. The processing circuitry system 200 of the computing device 14 can apply any of the techniques disclosed herein to determine a measurement of the patient 2's core temperature, or an approximation of the temperature at another location (such as location 4), based on the clothing temperature increment and the sensed temperature at location 17 (from the thermal imaging camera 10).

[0058] As another example, such as Figure 9 As shown, the thermal imaging camera 10 can sense the temperature at location 18 on the blanket 70 that is in contact with the patient 2, or on other sheets that are in direct or indirect contact with the patient 2, rather than sensing the temperature at location 68 on the clothing that is in contact with the patient 2. Similarly, for Figure 4 , Figure 7 and Figure 8For example, the processing circuitry system 200 or the thermal imaging camera 10 can determine a graph of the sensed temperature on the blanket 70 (or other sheet) in contact with the patient 2, or a graph of the sensed temperature on the blanket 70 (or other sheet) and the patient 2's face. The processing circuitry system 200 can determine the bedding temperature increment between temperatures determined by thermal images captured by the thermal imaging camera 10 at location 18, other locations (e.g., location 4), or it can determine the temperature increment between location 18 and the patient 2's actual core temperature. The processing circuitry system 200 of the computing device 14 can apply any of the techniques disclosed herein to determine a measurement of the patient 2's core temperature, or an approximation of the temperature at another location (such as location 4).

[0059] In some examples, the thermal imaging camera 10 may include a depth camera 8. Figure 1 The computing device 14 may include a depth camera, or a separate depth camera may be used in conjunction with the thermal imaging camera 10 and / or the computing device 14. In some examples, the processing circuitry system 200 of the computing device 14 may change the angle associated with the region of interest (ROI) based on the depth sensed by the depth camera 8. (Return to Reference) Figure 1 As described above, the thermal imaging camera 10 can capture thermal images of the patient 2, and the processing circuitry system 200 can determine the temperature at a location associated with the patient 2 from the thermal image. This sensed temperature can indicate the core temperature of the patient 2. In some examples, the location can be a point or a region of interest (ROI) covering an area larger than a point.

[0060] Figure 10 This is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of monitoring temperature in ROI 102 of patient 2. In some examples, the thermal imaging camera 10 can monitor point locations, such as those defined by... Figure 10 Point 100 is marked with an "x". A point can be represented by a single pixel of the thermal image captured by thermal imaging camera 10. In other examples, thermal imaging camera 10 can monitor ROI 102. ROI 102 is not a point, but an area, such as... Figure 10 The square in the image is shown. Therefore, ROI 102 can be represented by multiple pixels in the thermal image captured by thermal imaging camera 10. Each pixel may have the same size in some examples and a different size in others. The processing circuitry system 200 of computing device 14 can determine the average, median, or mode of the sensed temperature within ROI 102 in the thermal image, such that the average, median, or mode of the sensed temperature is the average, median, or mode of the temperature at two or more pixels (a subset or all pixels) within ROI 102 at a specific time when the thermal image was captured.

[0061] In some examples, the processing circuitry 200 can remove irrelevant sensed temperatures within the ROI 102 from the determination of the mean, median, or mode. For example, the processing circuitry 200 can remove sensed temperatures outside a predetermined range (such as approximately the 5th to 35th percentile to the 65th to 95th percentile of the sensed temperature, e.g., the range between the 25th and 75th percentiles) before determining the mean, median, or mode. The determined mean, median, or mode temperature of the ROI (such as ROI 102) may be referred to herein as the ROI temperature or sensed temperature. By using the ROI temperature instead of a point temperature, the sensed temperature can be more stable over time (e.g., with less variation). Given a specific distance, the ROI can be of a specific size. In some examples, the ROI may be predefined by the manufacturer of the computing device 14 and / or the thermal imaging camera 10, or selected by a user (such as a clinician). For example, a clinician can select the ROI by interacting with the UI. The 204 interaction defines an ROI by clicking a point or outlining it on an image of Patient 2 or in a graphic representing the patient or a portion of the patient. As another example, a clinician can select the size and location of an ROI by choosing from a plurality of predetermined ROIs available for selection via computing device 14. In some examples, an ROI could be an area of ​​Patient 2 that corresponds well to the actual core temperature of Patient 2, such as the forehead of Patient 2.

[0062] Figures 11A-11C This is a conceptual diagram illustrating ROI temperature sensing without adjusting the angle associated with the ROI based on distance. Figure 11A In the example, patient 2's ROI 110 has the same characteristics as... Figure 10 The ROI 102 is the same size. Without adjusting the angle associated with the ROI (such as based on the depth sensed by the depth camera 8), as the patient 2 moves further away from the thermal imaging camera 10, the ROI effectively grows relative to the subject's face if the angle associated with the ROI does not change. This relative change in the effective ROI can be referred to herein as the changed ROI. For example, in Figure 11B In the mean, ROI 112 (when patients 2 times) Figure 11A (10 hours further away from the thermal imaging camera) Figure 11A The area covered by the thermal imaging camera 10 was larger. As patient 2 moved further away from the camera, the ROI effectively increased again, as... Figure 11C As shown. For example, ROI 114 covers most of patient 2's forehead, most of his eyes, and part of his nose.

[0063] As described above, different locations on patient 2's face can have very different sensed temperatures. Therefore, if the size of the ROI effectively changes as patient 2 moves toward or away from the thermal imaging camera 10, the sensed temperature (derived from the thermal image captured by the thermal imaging camera 10) may change. For example, even if patient 2's core temperature does not change, Figure 11A The mean, median, or mode of ROI110 may also be related to Figure 11C The mean, median, or mode of the ROI 114 can vary considerably. For example, the temperature difference between the nose and forehead can differ significantly (up to or above 5°C–10°C). To help minimize the variation in ROI size depending on the proximity of patient 2 to thermal imaging camera 10, in some examples, the angle associated with the ROI varies based on the distance between thermal imaging camera 10 (or depth camera 8) and patient 2.

[0064] Figures 12A-12C This is a conceptual diagram illustrating ROI temperature sensing using a depth camera 8. For example, in Figure 12A In the meantime, ROI 120 covers or substantially covers the patient's area or the area of ​​the patient's symmetry with the surrounding environment. Figure 12B ROI 122 and Figure 12C The ROI 124 is an area of ​​the same size, even if the patient's distance from the thermal imaging camera 10 varies. This unchanged effective ROI can be referred to herein as a fixed ROI. Such an arrangement can lead to more stable ROI temperatures and more accurate measurements of the patient's core temperature.

[0065] Figure 13 This is a conceptual diagram illustrating an exemplary relationship between a Region of Interest (ROI) and its distance from a thermal imaging camera. At a distance L1 from the thermal imaging camera 10, the ROI may have a height H1. However, at a distance L2 from the thermal imaging camera 10, the ROI may have a height H2 greater than H1. However, for a given field of view angle θ, the thermal imaging camera 10 can use the same number of pixels to represent the heights H1 and H2 of the object.

[0066] If the thermal imaging camera 10 uses the same height (e.g., H1) at distances L1 and L2 to keep the ROI size the same, then the thermal imaging camera 10 can use a smaller angle and fewer pixels at distance L2 than at distance L1. Figure 14 This is a conceptual diagram illustrating another exemplary relationship between the ROI and the distance to the thermal imaging camera. Figure 14In the example, to sense the temperature of an ROI at location L2, which is equal in size to the ROI at location L1, the number of pixels required by the thermal imaging camera 10 may be less than the number of pixels at location L1. For example, the number of pixels required may be scaled to L1 / L2 in any dimension (e.g., the height or width of the ROI in the image). Therefore, in some examples, the processing circuitry system 200 may control the thermal imaging camera 10 to actually change the angle associated with the ROI to an angle different from θ, such as θx(L1 / L2), in order to keep the field of view focused on the same ROI on the patient 2, such that the size of the ROI on the patient 2 does not change (or does not change significantly) as the patient 2 moves toward or away from the thermal imaging camera 10. For example, the depth camera 8 may sense a distance L1 from the patient 2, and the computing device 14 or the thermal imaging camera 10 may use the distance L1 sensed by the depth camera 8 to determine the angle associated with the ROI. As the patient 2 moves away from the thermal imaging camera 10, the depth camera 8 can determine a new distance L2, and the processing circuit system 200 can determine a new angle associated with the ROI as θx(L1 / L2) and control the thermal imaging camera 10 to change the angle associated with the ROI.

[0067] Figure 15 This is a conceptual diagram illustrating an exemplary difference between changing and not changing the angle associated with a Region of Interest (ROI). When patient 2 is positioned at location 150 near thermal imaging camera 10, the changed angle associated with ROI 140 based on the distance from thermal imaging camera 10 (or depth camera 8) and the unchanged angle associated with ROI based on the distance between patient 2 and thermal imaging camera 10 (or depth camera 8) can both be the same. When patient 2 moves to location 152, which is further away from thermal imaging camera 10 than location 150, the unchanged angle associated with ROI results in a larger ROI 142 (shown as a dashed line). The larger ROI 142 surrounds a larger area of ​​patient 2's forehead, while the changed angle associated with ROI based on the distance between patient 2 and thermal imaging camera 10 (or depth camera 8) results in an ROI 144 that remains the same size or approximately the same size as ROI 140 relative to patient 2's forehead.

[0068] As patient 2 moves further from thermal imaging camera 10 to position 154, the unchanged angle associated with the ROI results in ROI 146 (shown as a dashed line) enclosing a larger area of ​​patient 2's forehead than ROIs 140, 142, and 144, potentially even impacting patient 2's eyes. In contrast, the changed angle associated with the ROI based on the distance between patient 2 and thermal imaging camera 10 (or depth camera 8) results in ROI 148 remaining the same size or approximately the same size as ROI 140 relative to patient 2's forehead. Therefore, changing the angle associated with the ROI based on the distance between patient 2 and thermal imaging camera 10 (or depth camera 8) results in a fixed ROI (solid line) that covers approximately the same area of ​​patient 2's face regardless of distance. Figure 15 As shown in the diagram. However, changing the angle associated with the ROI not based on the distance between patient 2 and thermal imaging camera 10 results in a changing ROI (dashed line) that covers an increasingly larger area of ​​patient 2's face as the distance from thermal imaging camera 10 increases.

[0069] In some examples, the processing circuitry 200 modifies the angle associated with the ROI based on the distance between the patient 2 and the thermal imaging camera 10, determined, for example, using depth camera 8 or another depth camera, to scale the ROI based on distance. Scaling the ROI in this way helps to make measurements of the core temperature determined based on thermal images captured by the thermal imaging camera 10 more consistent over time, even as the patient 2 moves closer to or further away from the thermal imaging camera 10. For example, the processing circuitry 200 of the computing device 14 can determine a first distance L1 between the patient 2 and at least one of the depth camera 8 or the thermal imaging camera 10 via the depth camera 8 at a first moment. The processing circuitry 200 can control a first angle (e.g., angle θ) associated with the ROI based on the first distance L1. The processing circuitry 200 can acquire a first thermal image associated with the patient 2 via the thermal imaging camera 10. The processing circuitry 200 can determine a first sensed temperature at the location associated with the patient 2 based on the thermal image. For example, the location associated with patient 2 could be a location on patient 2's face, a location on clothing in contact with patient 2, a location on a blanket in contact with patient 2, or a location on a bed sheet in contact with patient 2. At a second time, different from the first time, processing circuitry 200 can determine a second distance L2 between at least one of depth camera 8 or thermal imaging camera 10 and patient 2, and can control a second angle associated with the ROI (e.g., θx(L1 / L2)) based on the second distance. Processing circuitry 200 can acquire a second thermal image associated with the patient via thermal imaging camera 10 and determine a second sensed temperature at that location based on the second thermal image.

[0070] For example, if patient 2 is 2 meters away from thermal imaging camera 10 and the ROI width is 2 centimeters, then the angle associated with the ROI is θ = 2arctan(1 / 200) = 0.57 degrees. When patient 2 moves to a distance of 4 meters from thermal imaging camera 10, the processing circuit system 200 can control thermal imaging camera 10 to change the angle associated with the ROI to half of the angle associated with the ROI when the patient is 2 meters away from thermal imaging camera 10, i.e., 0.285 degrees, in order to keep the size of the ROI the same.

[0071] In some examples, the processing circuitry 200 can acquire a reference temperature of the patient 2. The processing circuitry 200 can determine a reference temperature increment between the reference temperature and a first sensed temperature. The processing circuitry 200 of the computing device 14 can determine a temperature measurement at a second location, different from the first location, based on the reference temperature increment. In some examples, the second location is the core of the patient 2. In some examples, the second location is a location on one of the patient's face, in contact with the patient's clothing, in contact with the patient's blanket, or in contact with the patient's bed sheet.

[0072] Figure 16 This is an instruction on how to use. Figure 16 The diagram shows graphs of the temperature sensed at a fixed and a varied ROI. In this example, it can be seen that for the fixed ROI line 160, the temperature decreases much less as the distance between the patient 2 and the thermal imaging camera 10 increases. For the varied ROI line 162, the average temperature decreases significantly more as the distance between the patient 2 and the thermal imaging camera 10 increases. This significant decrease may be due to the processing circuitry system 200 determining the average, median, or mode of the sensed temperature at different areas of the patient 2's face at each distance. For example, for some locations, the difference in temperature decrease may be due to the ROI pulling on the nose, which may be much cooler than the forehead. This indicates a less stable nature of the relationship between the distance between the thermal imaging camera 10 (or the depth camera 8) and the patient 2 and the associated angle.

[0073] In other examples, another camera 15, such as a red-green-blue (RGB) camera or any other camera (e.g., an infrared (IR) camera), or a computing device 14 via another camera 15, can extract, for example, different features on the head of patient 2. These features (e.g., at least two) can be, for example, eyes, eyes and nose, distances between eyes, between eyes and nose, etc. Processing circuitry 200 can determine the distances between features, such as the distances between eyes, between eyes and nose, etc. The angles associated with the distances between features can change as patient 2 moves to different positions. Processing circuitry 200 can use the distances between features on patient 2's head as a reference to control thermal imaging camera 10 to change the angles associated with the ROI, such that the ROI size remains the same for different distances L. In some examples, processing circuitry 200 of computing device 14 can use this technique as a double check of the ROI determined by using depth camera 8. For example, processing circuitry 200 can determine multiple features of patient 2's face based on images captured by another camera 15 (such as patient 2's eyes). Processing circuitry 200 can determine the distances between patient 2's eyes. The processing circuitry system 200 can further determine a first angle associated with the ROI and a second angle associated with the ROI based on multiple features (e.g., the eyes of patient 2, and more specifically, the known distance between the eyes of patient 2), as discussed above.

[0074] Figure 17 This is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary temperature monitoring technique. For example, the processing circuitry system 200 of the computing device 14 can acquire the core temperature (170) of the patient 2. For example, a clinician can acquire the core temperature of the patient 2 and input the actual core temperature into the UI 204 of the computing device 14 or via the communication circuitry system 206, or the patient monitoring device can automatically provide the actual core temperature to the processing circuitry system 200. The processing circuitry system 200 can acquire a first thermal image (172) associated with the patient 2 via a thermal imaging camera 10. For example, the processing circuitry system 200 can control the thermal imaging camera 10 to capture a first thermal image of the patient 2's face, the patient 2's exposed skin, clothing 68 in contact with the patient 2, blanket 70 in contact with the patient 2, or bed sheet in contact with the patient 2. The thermal imaging camera 10 can provide the first thermal image to the computing device 14 via the communication circuitry system 206. The processing circuitry system 200 can store the thermal image in a thermal image 212 in a memory 202.

[0075] The processing circuitry system 200 can determine a first sensed temperature (174) at a location associated with the patient based on the first thermal image. For example, the processing circuitry system 200 can analyze the first thermal image to determine the first sensed temperature. In some examples, the location associated with the patient is a point associated with patient 2. In other examples, the location is a region of interest (ROI) associated with patient 2. For example, the processing circuitry system 200 can determine locations 4, 6, and 12 (…). Figure 1 The core temperature can be determined as a first sensed temperature at any location associated with patient 2, or at any other location. The processing circuitry 200 can determine the core temperature increment (176) between the actual core temperature and the first sensed temperature. For example, the processing circuitry 200 can subtract one of the first sensed temperature or the core temperature from the other to determine the core temperature increment. The processing circuitry 200 can store the core temperature increment in a reference temperature increment 214 in memory 202.

[0076] The processing circuitry system 200 can acquire a second thermal image (178) associated with the patient 2 via the thermal imaging camera 10. For example, the processing circuitry system 200 can control the thermal imaging camera 10 to capture a second thermal image of the patient 2's face, the patient 2's exposed skin, clothing 68 in contact with the patient 2, blanket 70 in contact with the patient 2, or bed sheet in contact with the patient 2. The thermal imaging camera 10 can provide the second thermal image to the computing device 14 via the communication circuitry system 206. The processing circuitry system 200 can store the second thermal image in the thermal image 212 of the memory 202. The processing circuitry system 200 can determine a second sensed temperature (180) at the location based on the second thermal image. For example, the processing circuitry system 200 can determine the second sensed temperature at location 4, location 6, location 12, or any other location associated with the patient 2.

[0077] The processing circuitry system 200 can determine the measured value of the patient 2's core temperature based on a second sensed temperature and a core temperature increment (182). For example, the processing circuitry system 200 can add the core temperature increment to the second sensed temperature or subtract the core temperature increment from the second sensed temperature to determine the measured value of the patient 2's core temperature. The processing circuitry system 200 can output the measured value of the core temperature (184), for example, via a display 210, a speaker 216, a user interface (UI) 204, or a communication circuitry system 206. For example, the computing device 14 can transmit the measured value of the core temperature to another device (e.g., a nursing station) or can display the measured value of the core temperature on a display. In some examples, in response to determining that the measured value of the patient 2's core temperature is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, the processing circuitry system 200 can send an alarm to a clinician via the display 210, a speaker 216, a user interface (UI) 204, or a communication circuitry system 206. The predetermined threshold can be stored in the memory 202 of the computing device 14 or in the memory of another device.

[0078] In some examples, the processing circuitry system 200 may also consider other factors when calibrating or estimating the core temperature of patient 2. These techniques can be used in conjunction with any other techniques disclosed herein. Other factors may include environmental and / or physiological factors that may, for example, affect the core temperature of patient 2 over time or among patients. Such environmental factors may include air temperature, air humidity, the presence of a blanket 70 or other sheet on patient 2, airflow circulation / ventilation in the immediate vicinity of patient 2, use of an electric blanket, etc. Exemplary physiological factors may include patient measurements such as height, weight, body mass index (BMI), skin pigmentation, previous patient activity, fluid intake, etc. In some examples, the processing circuitry system 200 may consider the patient's disease state or illness (e.g., fever) when determining a measurement of the core temperature of patient 2. For example, the processing circuitry system 200 may determine an additional temperature increment based on environmental or physiological factors and may add the additional temperature increment to the sensed temperature or subtract the additional temperature increment from the sensed temperature.

[0079] In some examples, the processing circuitry system 200 may determine the facial temperature increment between a first position and a second position on the patient's face based on a temperature map of the patient's face in response to the patient 2 moving, and determine a measured value of the temperature at the first position based on the facial temperature increment and the sensed temperature at the second position.

[0080] In some examples, the core temperature measurement is a first core temperature measurement, and the processing circuitry 200 can determine a second core temperature measurement based on the temperature measurement at a first location on the patient's face and the core temperature increment. The processing circuitry 200 can then output the second core temperature measurement.

[0081] Figure 18 This is a flowchart illustrating another exemplary temperature monitoring technique. The processing circuitry system 200 can acquire a first distance (300) between at least one of the depth camera or thermal imaging camera and the patient at a first moment via the depth camera. For example, the processing circuitry system 200 can acquire the first distance between the depth camera 8 or thermal imaging camera 10 and the patient 2 from the depth camera 8. For example, the processing circuitry system 200 can acquire L1 ( Figure 14 The processing circuitry system 200 can control a first angle (302) associated with the ROI based on a first distance. For example, the processing circuitry system 200 can control a first angle θ based on a first distance L1. For example, the first angle θ can be determined based on the first distance L1 such that the ROI has a desired size or the ROI or point is at a desired location.

[0082] The processing circuitry system 200 can acquire a first thermal image (304) associated with the patient via a thermal imaging camera. For example, the processing circuitry system 200 can control the thermal imaging camera 10 to capture a first thermal image (e.g., a thermal image of a region of interest, ROI, or point) associated with the patient, and can acquire the first thermal image from the thermal imaging camera 10 via a communication circuitry system 206. The processing circuitry system 200 can determine a first sensed temperature (306) at a location associated with the patient based on the first thermal image. For example, the processing circuitry system 200 can analyze the first thermal image to determine the first sensed temperature. In some examples, the location associated with the patient is a point associated with patient 2. In other examples, the location is a region of interest (ROI) associated with patient 2. For example, the processing circuitry system 200 can determine locations 4, 6, 12, etc. Figure 1 (or the first sensed temperature at any other location associated with patient 2.)

[0083] The processing circuitry system 200 can acquire a second distance (308) between at least one of the depth camera or thermal imaging camera and the patient at a second time different from the first time. For example, the processing circuitry system 200 can acquire the second distance between the depth camera 8 or thermal imaging camera 10 and the patient 2 from the depth camera 8. For example, the processing circuitry system 200 can acquire L2 ( Figure 14 The processing circuitry system 200 can control a second angle (310) associated with the ROI based on a second distance. For example, the processing circuitry system 200 can control a second angle θx (L1 / L2) associated with the ROI based on a second distance L2. For example, the second angle θx (L1 / L2) can be determined such that the ROI has the same size or is focused at the same location as when the patient 2 is at a distance L1 from the depth camera 8 or the thermal imaging camera 10.

[0084] The processing circuitry system 200 can acquire a second thermal image associated with the patient via a thermal imaging camera (312). For example, the processing circuitry system 200 can control the thermal imaging camera 10 to capture a second thermal image associated with the patient (e.g., a thermal image of a region of interest or point) and can acquire the second thermal image from the thermal imaging camera 10 via the communication circuitry system 206. The processing circuitry system 200 can determine a second sensed temperature at that location based on the second thermal image (314). For example, the processing circuitry system 200 can analyze the second thermal image to determine the second sensed temperature at that location.

[0085] In some examples, the location is a first location, and the processing circuitry 200 can acquire the patient's reference temperature. In some examples, the processing circuitry 200 can determine a reference temperature increment between the reference temperature and the first sensed temperature. In some examples, the processing circuitry can determine a temperature measurement at a second location, different from the first location, based on the reference temperature increment. In some examples, the second location is the core of the patient's body.

[0086] In some examples, the processing circuitry system 200 can determine multiple features on the face of patient 2 based on an image captured by another camera. The processing circuitry system 200 can determine the distances between the multiple features. The processing circuitry system 200 can use the distances between the multiple features as a reference to control the angles associated with the ROI, such that a first angle and a second angle associated with the ROI are based on or further based on the multiple features.

[0087] Various aspects of these technologies may be implemented within one or more processors (including one or more microprocessors, DSPs, ASICs, FPGAs, or any other equivalent integrated or discrete logic circuit systems), and any combination of such components, embodied in programmers such as physician or patient programmers, electrical stimulators, or other devices. The terms “processor” or “processing circuit system” may generally refer to any of the aforementioned logic circuit systems, alone or in combination with other logic circuit systems or any other equivalent circuit system.

[0088] In one or more examples, the functionality described in this disclosure may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functionality may be stored as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium and executed by a hardware-based processing unit. The computer-readable medium may include a computer-readable storage medium forming a tangible, non-transitory medium. The instructions may be executed by one or more processors, such as one or more DSPs, ASICs, FPGAs, general-purpose microprocessors, or other equivalent integrated or discrete logic circuit systems. Therefore, the terms "processor" or "processing circuit system" as used herein may refer to one or more of any of the foregoing structures or any other structure suitable for implementing the techniques described herein.

[0089] Additionally, in some aspects, the functions described herein can be housed within dedicated hardware and / or software modules. Describing different features as modules or units is intended to highlight different functional aspects and does not necessarily imply that such modules or units must be implemented by separate hardware or software components. Rather, the functions associated with one or more modules or units may be performed by separate hardware or software components, or integrated within common or separate hardware or software components. Furthermore, this technology can be fully implemented in one or more circuit or logic elements. The technology disclosed herein can be implemented in a wide variety of devices or apparatuses, including thermal imaging cameras, computing devices, depth cameras, RGB cameras, any other cameras, or any combination of such devices or apparatuses, integrated circuits (ICs) or a set of ICs, and / or discrete circuit systems residing in any such devices or apparatuses.

[0090] This disclosure includes the following embodiments.

[0091] Example 1: A system comprising: a thermal imaging camera; a memory; and a processing circuitry coupled to the thermal imaging camera and the memory, the processing circuitry being configured to: acquire a patient's core temperature; acquire a first thermal image associated with the patient via the thermal imaging camera; determine a first sense temperature at a location associated with the patient based on the first thermal image; determine a core temperature increment between the core temperature and the first sense temperature; acquire a second thermal image associated with the patient via the thermal imaging camera; determine a second sense temperature at the location based on the second thermal image; determine a measured value of the core temperature based on the second sense temperature and the core temperature increment; and output the measured value of the core temperature.

[0092] Example 2: The system according to Example 1, wherein the location is a point associated with the patient.

[0093] Example 3: The system according to Example 1, wherein the location is a region of interest associated with the patient.

[0094] Example 4: The system according to any combination of Example 1 or 2 or Example 1 or 3, wherein the location is on one of the patient's face, in contact with the patient's clothing, in contact with the patient's blanket, or in contact with the patient's bed sheet.

[0095] Example 5: The system according to any combination of Example 1 or 4, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine a temperature map of the patient's face based on a first thermal image.

[0096] Example 6: The system according to Example 5, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine a facial temperature increment between a first position on the patient's face and a second position on the patient's face in response to patient movement and based on a temperature map of the patient's face; and determine a measured value of the temperature at the first position based on the facial temperature increment and a sensed temperature at the second position based on a second thermal image.

[0097] Example 7: According to the system described in Example 6, wherein the measured value of the core temperature is a first measured value of the core temperature, wherein the processing circuit system is further configured to: determine a second measured value of the core temperature based on the measured value of the temperature at a first location on the patient's face and the core temperature increment; and output the second measured value of the core temperature.

[0098] Example 8. The system according to any combination of Examples 1 to 7 further includes a depth camera, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: acquire a first distance between at least one of the depth camera or thermal imaging camera and the patient at a first time; control a first angle associated with a region of interest (ROI) based on the first distance; acquire a second distance between at least one of the depth camera or thermal imaging camera and the patient at a second time other than the first time; and control a second angle associated with the ROI based on the first distance and the second distance, wherein the first distance is different from the second distance and the first angle is different from the second angle.

[0099] Example 9: The system according to Example 8 further includes another camera, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to determine multiple features of the patient’s face based on images captured by the other camera, and wherein a first angle and a second angle are further based on the multiple features.

[0100] Example 10: A system according to any combination of Examples 1 to 9, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine an additional temperature increment; and determine a measurement of the core temperature based on the additional temperature increment, a second sensed temperature, and a core temperature increment, wherein the additional temperature increment is based on at least one of the patient's environmental or physiological factors.

[0101] Example 11, a method comprising: acquiring a patient’s core temperature via a processing circuit system; acquiring a first thermal image associated with the patient via the processing circuit system; determining a first sensed temperature at a location associated with the patient via the processing circuit system and based on the first thermal image; and determining a core temperature increment between the core temperature and the first sensed temperature via the processing circuit system.

[0102] The system acquires a second thermal image associated with the patient through a processing circuitry system; determines a second sensed temperature at that location based on the second thermal image through the processing circuitry system; determines a measured value of the core temperature based on the second sensed temperature and the core temperature increment through the processing circuitry system; and outputs the measured value of the core temperature.

[0103] Example 12: The method according to Example 11, wherein the location is a point associated with the patient.

[0104] Example 13: The method according to Example 11, wherein the location is a region of interest associated with the patient.

[0105] Example 14: The method according to any combination of Example 11 or 12, or Example 11 or 13, wherein the location is on one of the patient's face, in contact with the patient's clothing, in contact with the patient's blanket, or in contact with the patient's bed sheet.

[0106] Example 15, the method according to any combination of Examples 11 to 14, further includes: processing the circuit system and determining a temperature map of the patient's face based on the first thermal image.

[0107] Example 16, the method according to Example 15, further includes: in response to patient movement, determining a facial temperature increment between a first position on the patient's face and a second position on the patient's face by processing the circuitry system and based on a temperature map of the patient's face; and determining a measured value of the temperature at the first position by processing the circuitry system and based on the facial temperature increment and the sensed temperature at the second position.

[0108] Example 17: The method according to Example 16, wherein the core temperature measurement is a first core temperature measurement, further includes: determining a second core temperature measurement by processing the circuit system and based on the temperature measurement at a first location on the patient's face and the core temperature increment; and outputting the second core temperature measurement.

[0109] Example 18, the method according to any combination of Examples 11 to 17, further comprising: at a first time, acquiring a first distance between at least one of the depth camera or thermal imaging camera and the patient via a processing circuit system; controlling a first angle of the thermal imaging camera based on the first distance via the processing circuit system; at a second time different from the first time, acquiring a second distance between at least one of the depth camera or thermal imaging camera and the patient via the processing circuit system; and controlling a second angle of the thermal imaging camera based on the first distance and the second distance via the processing circuit system, wherein the first distance is different from the second distance and the first angle is different from the second angle.

[0110] Example 19. The method according to Example 18 further includes: determining multiple features of the patient's face by a processing circuit system, wherein the first angle and the second angle are further based on the multiple features.

[0111] Example 20: The method according to any combination of Examples 11 to 19, wherein the measurement of the core temperature is continuous.

[0112] Example 21: A system comprising: a thermal imaging camera; a depth camera; a memory; and a processing circuitry coupled to the thermal imaging camera, the depth camera, and the memory, the processing circuitry being configured to: at a first time, acquire a first distance between at least one of the depth camera or the thermal imaging camera and a patient via the depth camera; control a first angle associated with a region of interest (ROI) based on the first distance; acquire a first thermal image associated with the patient via the thermal imaging camera; determine a first sensed temperature at a location associated with the patient based on the first thermal image; acquire a second distance between at least one of the depth camera or the thermal imaging camera and the patient via the depth camera at a second time other than the first time; control a second angle associated with the ROI based on the second distance; acquire a second thermal image associated with the patient via the thermal imaging camera; and determine a second sensed temperature at the location based on the second thermal image.

[0113] Example 22: The system according to Example 21, wherein the position is a first position, and the processing circuit system is further configured to: acquire a reference temperature of the patient; determine a reference temperature increment between the reference temperature and a first sensed temperature; and determine a measured temperature at a second position, different from the first position, based on the reference temperature increment.

[0114] Example 23: The system according to Example 22, wherein the second position is the core of the patient.

[0115] Example 24: The system according to any combination of Examples 21 or 22, wherein the second position is a position on one of the patient's face, in contact with the patient's clothing, in contact with the patient's blanket, or in contact with the patient's bed sheet.

[0116] Example 25: A system according to any combination of Examples 21 to 23, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to determine multiple features of a patient’s face based on an image captured by another camera, and wherein a first angle and a second angle are further based on the multiple features.

[0117] Example 26: A method comprising: acquiring a first distance between a patient and at least one of a depth camera or a thermal imaging camera via a first time using a processing circuit system; controlling a first angle associated with a region of interest (ROI) based on the first distance using the processing circuit system; acquiring a first thermal image associated with the patient via the thermal imaging camera using the processing circuit system; determining a first sensed temperature at a location associated with the patient using the processing circuit system and based on the first thermal image; acquiring a second distance between the patient and at least one of the depth camera or the thermal imaging camera at a second time other than the first time using the processing circuit system; controlling a second angle associated with the ROI based on the second distance using the processing circuit system; acquiring a second thermal image associated with the patient via the thermal imaging camera using the processing circuit system; and determining a second sensed temperature at the location using the processing circuit system and based on the second thermal image.

[0118] Example 27: The method according to Example 26, wherein the position is a first position, further includes: acquiring the patient's reference temperature through a processing circuit system; determining a reference temperature increment between the reference temperature and a first sensed temperature through the processing circuit system; and determining a measured temperature at a second position, different from the first position, through the processing circuit system and based on the reference temperature increment.

[0119] Example 28: The method described in Example 27, wherein the second position is the core of the patient.

[0120] Various aspects of this disclosure have been described. These and other aspects fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A temperature monitoring system, comprising: Thermal imaging camera; Depth camera; A memory configured to store thermal images captured by the thermal imaging camera; and A processing circuit system coupled to the thermal imaging camera and the memory, the processing circuit system being configured to: Obtain the patient's core temperature; At the first moment, the first distance between at least one of the depth camera or the thermal imaging camera and the patient is obtained; Based on the first distance, control the first angle associated with the region of interest (ROI); A first thermal image associated with the patient is acquired via the thermal imaging camera; A first sensed temperature is determined based on the first thermal image at a location associated with the patient, such that the temperature at the location changes as a function of the patient's core temperature, wherein the location is a region of interest represented by a plurality of pixels of an image captured by the thermal imaging camera; Determine the difference between the core temperature and the first sensed temperature; At a second time different from the first time, a second distance is acquired between at least one of the depth camera or the thermal imaging camera and the patient; Based on the first distance and the second distance, a second angle associated with the region of interest is controlled. A second thermal image associated with the patient is acquired via the thermal imaging camera; A second sensing temperature at the location is determined based on the second thermal image; The measured value of the core temperature is determined based on the second sensed temperature and the difference between the core temperature and the first sensed temperature. as well as Output the measured value of the core temperature. Wherein the first distance is different from the second distance and the first angle is different from the second angle, and The second angle is controlled such that the size of the region of interest on the patient does not change significantly.

2. The temperature monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the location is a location on the patient or on an object in direct or indirect contact with the patient.

3. The temperature monitoring system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the location is on one of the patient's face, in contact with the patient's clothing, in contact with the patient's blanket, or in contact with the patient's bed sheet.

4. The temperature monitoring system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the processing circuit system is further configured as follows: A temperature map of the patient's face is determined based on the first thermal image.

5. The temperature monitoring system according to claim 4, wherein the processing circuit system is further configured as follows: In response to patient movement and based on the temperature map of the patient's face, determine the temperature difference between a first location on the patient's face and a second location on the patient's face; and The measured temperature at the first location is determined based on the temperature difference between the first and second locations and the sensed temperature at the second location based on the second thermal image.

6. The temperature monitoring system according to claim 5, wherein the measured value of the core temperature is a first measured value of the core temperature, and wherein the processing circuit system is further configured to: A second measurement of the core temperature is determined based on the measured temperature at the first location on the patient's face and the difference between the acquired core temperature and the first sensed temperature; and Output the second measured value of the core temperature.

7. The temperature monitoring system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising another camera, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: Multiple facial features of the patient were determined based on images captured by the other camera; The first angle and the second angle are further based on the plurality of features.

8. The temperature monitoring system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the processing circuit system is further configured to: Determine the additional temperature difference; and The measured value of the core temperature is determined based on the additional temperature difference, the second sensed temperature, and the difference between the core temperature and the first sensed temperature. The additional temperature difference is based on at least one of the patient's environmental or physiological factors.

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