Marketing materials from some manufacturers about products to detect carriers of COVID-19 ‘are fanciful to the point of being dangerous’, according to a fire and security systems installer’s Managing Director. Richard Lambert, pictured, of Buckinghamshire-based Evolution, is advising customers that the firm will not be installing certain thermal imaging kit that claims ‘fever detection’.
Richard says: “We have investigated many of the claims, some of which are fanciful to the point of being dangerous. And even supposing such systems did work, they can still only give an ‘indication’ of fever and that would then need to be validated. Are we seriously suggesting that every business has medically trained personnel on hand to test every employee or visitor who seems to have a temperature?
“Without proper consultation, a survey of location and in many cases a redesign of entrances and operations at those entrances, these thermal cameras will be little more than an expensive token gesture.”
The thermal imaging, Evolution adds, purports to work in a number of ways: one is by measuring the temperature of the inner canthus (the corner of the eye) which correlates closely to the core body temperature. Another is that it measures the temperature of a person’s forehead as they pass by. Richard says that neither approach is practical nor accurate.
“It takes up to five seconds to record the temperature of the inner eye and that’s assuming the individual stands still. But perhaps more concerning is the system’s accuracy.
“Most have variances, even in perfect conditions, of plus or minus 0.3 degrees Centigrade at best. Such a variance can put you ‘in’ the fever zone or preclude you from it. And fever is only a possible sign of COVID-19, not the principal determinant, which means many without the virus would still have to be stopped and tested. This isn’t practical in every customer’s case.”
According to Richard, some manufacturers are exploiting the virus crisis: “Buyers need to be aware of both the limitations of the technology and the challenges of ‘what happens next’ should a test prove ‘positive’.
“Infectious persons will still get past this process if they are asymptomatic, and others will slip through the net because of the inaccuracy of the reading. Yes, thermal imaging and other security system technology do have a role to play but manufacturers and their agents need to be honest about what their technology can really achieve and the operational issues installing such technology will bring.”
