Frequently Asked Questions
False low readings:
•Multiple readings can cool the skin, so if you take another measurement immediately, expect a slightly lower reading.
•Slide the thermometer straight across the forehead, not down the side of the face where the TA could be embedded under cartilage or fat.
•Keep the probe flush on the skin, as in the picture on the right. If angled, you will be measuring ambient air as well as the TA area.
Memorable solutions?
•Measure only the side exposed to the environment. The TemporalScanner assumes the skin it measures has equilibrated to ambient, so a down or covered side could be falsely high as heat is trapped and the skin is unable to equilibrate.
•If the up side is not the side closest to you, try scanning from the hairline towards the center of the forehead.
•Scan slowly across the TA area; if you scan too quickly you can miss the peak.
Conditions that could affect a reading
•Bandages or pressure dressings covering the forehead.
•Forehead abrasions, burns, sweat.
•Agitated or combative patient.
•Patient’s forehead in direct draft from vent or fan.
•Thermometer in different ambient temperature than patient: i.e. window ledge directly exposed to hot sun or cold weather, or in direct line of air conditioning or fan.
...and their solutions
•If accessible and dry, measure on the area behind the ear lobe only.
•Consider using the alternate sites: femoral artery, lateral thoracic, or axillary areas.
•The TemporalScanner should be kept in the same ambient temperature as your patient. Each 10° difference in ambient can cause a 1° error in the reading.
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