Temporal artery temperature detector

Abstract

Body temperature measurements are obtained by scanning a thermal radiation sensor across the side of the forehead over the temporal artery. A peak temperature measurement is processed to compute an internal temperature of the body as a function of ambient temperature and the sensed surface temperature. The function includes a weighted difference of surface temperature and ambient temperature, the weighting being varied with target temperature through a minimum in the range of 96° F. and 100° F. The radiation sensor views the target surface through an emissivity compensating cup which is spaced from the skin by a circular lip of low thermal conductivity.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A body temperature detector comprising: 
 a temperature detector;    electronics which measure peak temperature from at least three readings per second during scan of the temperature detector across an artery and which process the detected peak temperature to provide a temperature display based on a model of heat balance relative to a detected arterial temperature.    
     
     
         2 . A detector as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the temperature detector comprises a radiation sensor which views a target surface area of the forehead.  
     
     
         3 . A detector as claimed in  claim 2  wherein the radiation sensor views a target through a reflective cup, the cup having a large open diameter close to the target surface and a window at the base of the cup through which the radiation sensor views the target, the cup being out of the field of view of the sensor.  
     
     
         4 . A detector as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the electronics compute an internal temperature of the body as a function of ambient temperature and sensed surface temperature, the function including a weighted difference of surface temperature and ambient temperature, the weighting being varied with target temperature through a minimum in the range of 96° F. to 100° F., the weighting increasing above and below the minimum.  
     
     
         5 . A detector as claimed in  claim 4  wherein the weighting includes an approximation of h/pc at a forehead artery where h is a heat transfer coefficient between the target surface and ambient, p is profusion rate and c is blood specific heat.  
     
     
         6 . A detector as claimed in  claim 5  wherein the approximation of h/pc at the minimum is about 0.19.  
     
     
         7 . A detector as claimed in  claim 4  wherein the temperature detector comprises a radiation sensor which views a target surface area of the forehead.  
     
     
         8 . A detector as claimed in  claim 7  wherein the radiation sensor views a target through a reflective cup, the cup having a large open diameter close to the target surface and a window at the base of the cup through which the radiation sensor views the target, the cup being out of the field of view of the sensor.  
     
     
         9 . A detector as claimed in  claim 8  wherein the reflective cup is spaced from the target surface by a smooth lip of low thermal conductivity material.  
     
     
         10 . A detector as claimed in  claim 4  wherein the weighting is a linear approximation having a minimum between 96° F. and 97° F.  
     
     
         11 . A detector as claimed in  claim 4  wherein the weighting includes a polynomial approximation of 1+h/pc=k 1 T s   2 −k 2 T s +k 3  where h is a heat transfer coefficient between the target surface and ambient, p is perfusion rate, c is blood specific heat, k 1  is approximately 0.00359, k 2  is approximately 0.708 and k 3  is approximately 36.1.  
     
     
         12 . A body temperature detector comprising: 
 a temperature sensor which senses temperature of a skin surface; and    electronics which compute an internal temperature of the body as a function of ambient temperature and sensed surface temperature, the function including a weighted difference of surface temperature and ambient temperature, the weighting being varied with target temperature through a minimum in the range of 96° F.-100° F., the weighting increasing above and below the minimum.    
     
     
         13 . A detector as claimed in  claim 12  wherein the weighting includes an approximation of h/pc at a forehead artery where h is a heat transfer coefficient between the target surface and ambient, p is perfusion rate and c is blood specific heat, the approximation of h/pc at the minimum being about 1.19.  
     
     
         14 . A detector as claimed in  claim 12  wherein the temperature sensor comprises a radiation sensor which views a target surface area of the forehead.  
     
     
         15 . A detector as claimed in  claim 14  wherein the radiation sensor views a target through a reflective cup, the cup having a large open diameter close to the target surface and a window at the base of the cup through which the radiation sensor views the target, the cup being out of the field of view of the sensor.  
     
     
         16 . A detector as claimed in  claim 15  wherein the reflective cup is spaced from the target surface by a smooth lip of low thermal conductivity material.  
     
     
         17 . A method of detecting human body temperature comprising: 
 detecting temperature at a skin surface; and    computing an internal body temperature of the body as a function of ambient temperature and sensed surface temperature, the function including a weighted difference of surface temperature and ambient temperature, the weighting being varied with target temperature through a minimum in the range of 96° F.-100° F., the weighting increasing above and below the minimum.    
     
     
         18 . A method as claimed in  claim 17  wherein the temperature detector comprises a radiation sensor which views a target surface area.  
     
     
         19 . A method as claimed in  claim 18  wherein the radiation sensor views a target through a reflective cup, the cup having a large open diameter close to the target surface and a window at the base of the cup through which the radiation sensor views the target, the cup being out of the field of view of the sensor.  
     
     
         20 . A method as claimed in  claim 17  wherein the skin surface is in the vicinity of an artery.  
     
     
         21 . A body temperature detector comprising: 
 a radiation sensor which views a target surface area;    a reflective cup through which the radiation sensor views the target surface area, the cup having a large open diameter close to the target surface and a window at the base of the cup through which the radiation sensor views the target, the cup being out of the field of view of the sensors; and    electronics which measure peak temperature from at least three readings per second during scan of the temperature detector across the target surface area, the electronics processing the detected peak temperature to provide a temperature display based on a model of heat balance relative to the detected temperature.    
     
     
         22 . A detector as claimed in  claim 21  wherein the peak detector detects a peak from about ten readings per second.