An ergonomic wearable core body temperature sensor

Abstract

The observation of core body temperature is important for several hospital and home patients, especially those who have undergone surgical interventions. To provide a continuous estimate of core body temperature, previous approaches have focused on embedding sensors or designing forehead patches that use single or dual heat flows. This work proposes a foam-based Y-shaped sensor with flexible electronics and focuses on the ergonomic aspect. We developed a laboratory setup to derive the heat-flow parameters then tested the sensor on 10 volunteers who wore it on two locations: the forehead and behind their ear (mastoid area). An existing zero-heat-flux sensor (SpotOn by 3M) was used as reference. The sensor had an average heat-up time of 7.7 minutes and a mean error of 0.10 °C for the forehead and a heat-up time of 6.9 minutes for the mastoid area with a mean error of 0.03 °C. This ergonomic sensor has the potential for continuous core body temperature measurement for mobile patients. The next steps include testing the sensor in a hospital environment and validating it with respect to standard core body temperature sensors, such as esophageal or rectal probes.