Abstract
Around the planet, in many different scenarios, skin temperature is being used as a surrogate measure of deep body (core) temperature in the assessment of whether an individual is infected with the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), which causes the coronavirus disease (Covid‐19, or C‐19), as indicated by the presence of fever. The key question is whether this is a valid methodology. If it is not, we run the risk of falsely excluding individuals from places they may want, or need, to go. We also run the risk of falsely allowing people into places where they can spread the undetected infection they have. In this review, we explore these and associated questions.
We establish the limited utility of the current methodology for the mass screening of individuals for Covid‐19 related fever using infrared thermography. We propose an alternative method that should be more sensitive.
We establish the limited utility of the current methodology for the mass screening of individuals for Covid‐19 related fever using infrared thermography. We propose an alternative method that should be more sensitive.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 733-742 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Experimental Physiology |
| Volume | 107 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| Early online date | 12 Jan 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jul 2022 |
Keywords
- Covid-19
- fever
- screening
- thermography
Access to Document
- Degrees of freedom
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Mekjavic, IB, Tipton, MJ. Myths and methodologies: Degrees of freedom – limitations of infrared thermographic screening for Covid‐19 and other infections. Experimental Physiology. 2021; 1– 10. https://doi.org/10.1113/EP089260, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1113/EP089260. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.