Clinical electrical thermometers with maximum device
Concerns over toxicity of mercury and its improper disposal means mercury thermometers are no longer used in the health service.
Nowadays compact electrical thermometers are constructed to resemble clinical mercury thermometers. The difference is they use an electrical sensor, such as a thermistor.
‘Compact’ means that the measurement, processing and display are all included in the probe, so the device is self-contained. They are inserted under the tongue in the usual way, and once initiated, the maximum reading is displayed. The maximum permissible error in the range 35.5 °C to 42.0 °C is ± 0.1 °C, and the reading should be within 0.1 °C of the final value within 60 seconds.
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