What is the HFOV and how does this compare to competitive systems?
The horizontal-field-of-view (HFOV) is the width (measured in degrees) of the imaging area. The higher the HFOV number, the wider the image area captured by the thermal imager. Seek Scan uses a 35˚ HFOV to ensure the system is at a safe and reasonable distance from the screening subject, while also allowing the person to easily be placed within view of the thermal imager.
How is this different from other solutions?
Many other thermal imaging systems do not use a reference heat source while taking a measurement. The reference device allows the Seek Scan system to obtain an accurate and reliable measurement while keeping the system affordable to the widest number of users. FDA Guidelines for thermal imaging systems used during the Covid-19 Public Health Emergency released in April 2020 recommend using a reference device (Black Body). Other systems that specify high accuracy without the use of a reference heat source are typically prohibitively expensive and/or are simply not able to provide the accuracy that they claim.
What is a reference heat source? Why is this required, and why do some competitors have it and some do not?
A reference heat source (sometimes called a Black Body) is a thermally calibrated heating element set to emit heat at a very specific temperature. This is used in conjunction with a thermal imager, as an accurate reference point, to provide adjusted accurate readings.
How is this different from a handheld thermometer for scanning people?
The measurement of temperature with a Seek Scan system and a handheld temporal thermometer are very similar in that they measure skin temperature of the subject and provide an offset to estimate a person’s internal body temperature. However, the Seek Scan system allows more distancing from the subject as well as automated measurement (rather than a manual check of each person. Seek Scan also helps the user account for a variety of conditions that may impact skin temperature, such as an adjustable body temperature offset and a visual plot of recent temperature readings.
Competitive products have higher resolution thermal, why is a resolution of 206 x 156 used for Seek Scan?
For the purposes of facial skin temperature measurement, we have determined that 206x156 (at our prescribed distance set up of 4-5 feet) is a good balance between delivering the resolution required for reliable measurement while providing an affordable solution for businesses of any size.
Why does Seek Scan only screen one person at a time? Some competitive products screen multiple people at a time?
According to our own research and following FDA Guidelines for thermal imaging systems used during the Covid-19 Public Health Emergency, released in April 2020, the technology should be used to measure only one subject’s temperature at a time.
Why is the accuracy of this product so much better than the other Seek products, how is this done?
The majority of Seek products are intended for use among a wide range of applications and therefore need to detect temperature over a very wide range in various conditions. Measurement accuracy of a few degrees is ample in those applications. Seek Scan is calibrated for a narrow skin temperature range at the core sensor level, using a reference heat source with a known temperature in the camera scene, along with analytics to determine the facial skin temperature at a specific distance.