NPL has collaborated with a number of UK clinical centres to improve calibration and validation facilities for diagnostic thermometry.

In medicine, thermal imaging is used for: rheumatology, dermatology, drug therapy, diagnostics, monitoring and surgical applications. Body temperature measurements are expected to have an overall uncertainty of no more than ± 0.2 °C. However, with most thermal imaging systems having specified uncertainties of ± 2 °C, or ± 2 % (whichever is higher), achieving this required uncertainty at point of use is challenging.

NPL has collaborated with a number of UK clinical centres to improve calibration and validation facilities for diagnostic thermometry. This has included developing:

• a laboratory-based variable temperature standard (TIBB – thermal imaging blackbody)
• a range of novel, robust and portable 'fixed-point' in-field of view validation blackbodies (TIVS – thermal imaging validation system)

The work has been in close collaboration with UK clinical centres (Royal Free Hospital, Ninewells Nospital (University of Dundee), University of Glamorgan) and instrumentation manufacturers (Isothermal Technology, Land Instruments).

TIBB - Thermal imaging blackbody, in use		TIVS - Thermal imaging validation system, in use

For more information, please contact Rob Simpson