Medical thermal imager is world's most accurate

Non-contact temperature measurement specialist Land Instruments International is seeking a patent for a technique that ensures the continuous accuracy of its FTI Mv radiometric thermal imager when used for medical purposes.

Applications for thermal imaging are to be found in almost every medical and research field where body temperature is an issue, from chiropractic clinical evaluations and diagnosis of conditions such as Reynaud's Syndrome to studies of wound healing and blood flow through transplanted tissue.

In all cases the uncertainty and repeatability of the temperature information required depends on calibration data such as sensitivity and ambient drift for the imager’s 19,200 pixel focal plane detector array (160 x 120), all of which update at frame rates of 25 per second and greater.

These data can compromise the calibration of traditional imagers, causing other manufacturers to limit claims for the temperature measurement accuracy of their product to +/-2% or 2°C. For the user, it also means that the imager must be returned to the manufacturer so that the calibration can be verified at regular intervals.