Problems with Current Methods of
Temperature Measurement

SPOT-CHECK PREDICTIVE METHODS
Oral, Tympanic, Axillary, Forehead, Rectal Thermometers

PROBLEMS:

  • Mercury thermometers are antiquated technology that are dangerous if broken
  • Continuous monitoring is not possible
  • Predictive thermometers overestimate or underestimate temperature
  • False indication of fever triggers needless diagnostic tests and therapies, causing unnecessary increase in health care costs and patient suffering
  • Oral and ear thermometers enter the body and contact internal secretions, risking cross contamination
  • Forehead thermometers cannot provide accurate and reliable core temperature measurement due to the body's natural insulating fat layer

CONTINUOUS INVASIVE METHODS:
Esophageal, Foley, Pulmonary Artery Catheters

PROBLEMS:

  • Esophageal and Foley catheters are invasive
    and uncomfortable
  • Bladder and stomach content as well as surgical site environment significantly affect accuracy
  • Catheters can become colonized by organisms and cause infection, sepsis and death
  • 15 million central venous catheters days occur in ICUs each year
  • In ICUs within the United States, anywhere from 2,400 to 20,000 patients die annually from atheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs).
  • The estimated annual cost of caring for patients with CRBSIs ranges from $296 million to $2.3 billion.
  • The urinary tract is the most common site of healthcare-associated infection, accounting for more than 40% of the total number reported by acute-care hospitals and affecting an estimated 600,000 patients per year.
  • Two million hospital infection cases each year -- 90,000 of them die as a result -- according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.