Comparison of the temperature accuracy between smart phone based and high-end thermal cameras using a temperature gradient phantom

John H. Klaessens; Albert van der Veen; Rudolf M. Verdaasdonk

doi:10.1117/12.2252898

16 March 2017 Comparison of the temperature accuracy between smart phone based and high-end thermal cameras using a temperature gradient phantom

John H. Klaessens, Albert van der Veen, Rudolf M. Verdaasdonk

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 10056, Design and Quality for Biomedical Technologies X; 100560D (2017) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2252898
Event: SPIE BiOS, 2017, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Recently, low cost smart phone based thermal cameras are being considered to be used in a clinical setting for monitoring physiological temperature responses such as: body temperature change, local inflammations, perfusion changes or (burn) wound healing. These thermal cameras contain uncooled micro-bolometers with an internal calibration check and have a temperature resolution of 0.1 degree. For clinical applications a fast quality measurement before use is required (absolute temperature check) and quality control (stability, repeatability, absolute temperature, absolute temperature differences) should be performed regularly. Therefore, a calibrated temperature phantom has been developed based on thermistor heating on both ends of a black coated metal strip to create a controllable temperature gradient from room temperature 26 °C up to 100 °C. The absolute temperatures on the strip are determined with software controlled 5 PT-1000 sensors using lookup tables. In this study 3 FLIR-ONE cameras and one high end camera were checked with this temperature phantom. The results show a relative good agreement between both low-cost and high-end camera’s and the phantom temperature gradient, with temperature differences of 1 degree up to 6 degrees between the camera’s and the phantom. The measurements were repeated as to absolute temperature and temperature stability over the sensor area. Both low-cost and high-end thermal cameras measured relative temperature changes with high accuracy and absolute temperatures with constant deviations. Low-cost smart phone based thermal cameras can be a good alternative to high-end thermal cameras for routine clinical measurements, appropriate to the research question, providing regular calibration checks for quality control.

Citation Download Citation

John H. Klaessens, Albert van der Veen, and Rudolf M. Verdaasdonk "Comparison of the temperature accuracy between smart phone based and high-end thermal cameras using a temperature gradient phantom", Proc. SPIE 10056, Design and Quality for Biomedical Technologies X, 100560D (16 March 2017); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2252898

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