Real-Time Febrility Detection Using Thermal Sensors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing health credentialing systems rely on periodic testing, which fails to detect individuals who may have become infectious between screenings, posing a risk of disease transmission in facilities.
Innovation Solution
A real-time health credentialing system using a heat sensor to detect febrile conditions by measuring skin temperature, optionally with a controller to orient the sensor for accurate readings, and processing the data to determine if a person has a febrile condition.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If periodic health credentialing is used, then administrative simplicity is maintained, but detection reliability of infectious individuals deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual periodic health screening with an automated thermal imaging system that uses infrared sensors to detect febrile conditions. This substitution of mechanical/manual processes with automated sensing technology resolves the contradiction by maintaining administrative simplicity while dramatically improving detection reliability through continuous, objective temperature monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service health credentialing by automatically monitoring individuals' temperatures without requiring manual medical intervention. The thermal imaging system continuously assesses health status and provides real-time credentialing decisions, eliminating the need for periodic manual screenings while maintaining system simplicity.
2Reliability
If real-time temperature monitoring is implemented, then detection reliability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The thermal imaging system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it monitors temperature, detects febrile conditions, provides real-time alerts, and integrates with access control systems. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction by consolidating what could be a complex system into a unified platform that achieves high detection reliability while managing complexity through integrated design.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a central processing unit and communication module as intermediaries that coordinate between thermal sensors, alert systems, and access control. This intermediary layer simplifies the overall system architecture by centralizing data processing and coordination, thereby reducing complexity while maintaining high detection reliability.
3Measurement precision
If continuous health monitoring is performed, then detection precision improves, but loss of time for processing increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs continuous temperature monitoring without interruption, maintaining constant surveillance of individuals' thermal signatures. This continuous action enables real-time detection of fever onset while processing data continuously in the background, thereby achieving high measurement precision without adding processing delays to individual measurements.
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes baseline temperature profiles for individuals before they enter monitored zones and continuously compares real-time readings against these pre-established baselines. This preliminary action enables rapid, precise detection of temperature changes without requiring extensive processing time during actual monitoring, as the reference data is already prepared.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively identifies febrile individuals in real-time, reducing the risk of infectious disease transmission by detecting potential carriers before they enter facilities.
Implementation Method 1
providing a heat sensor operable to receive thermal radiation from a person
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and processes are presented for real time health credentialing of individuals seeking entry to a facility requiring health credentialing for access. A system and process for real time detection of a febrile condition comprises providing a heat sensor operable to receive thermal radiation from a person. Optionally, the system provides a controller operable to selectively orient the thermal sensor incident to the facial region of a person within a zone of detection. Further, the system optionally processes the sensor temperature to conditionally determine a febrile condition.