Infrared thermal imaging system on a mobile phone

Area of Science:

• Engineering
• Applied Physics
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• The evolution of thermal imagers shows a trend towards portable, low-cost designs for civilian applications.
• Existing thermal imaging systems are often expensive and not easily integrated into daily life.
• There is a growing need for accessible thermal imaging technology in various sectors, including healthcare.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and demonstrate a novel, low-cost, mobile phone-based infrared thermal imaging system (MTIS).
• To develop a user-friendly software interface for enhanced usability and expandability.
• To explore potential applications of MTIS, particularly in family-targeted healthcare scenarios.

Main Methods:

• Development of a mobile thermal infrared module (TIM) with specified sensor and optical components.
• Creation of an exclusive Android application (IRAPP) for the MTIS.
• Implementation of computational algorithms for non-uniformity correction and scene-change detection to optimize image quality and efficiency.

Main Results:

• The developed MTIS integrates a thermal infrared module with a mobile phone and specialized software.
• Performance experiments confirmed a detective distance of approximately 29 meters for the MTIS.
• The system's design facilitates potential applications in areas such as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) prevention.

Conclusions:

• The MTIS represents a significant advancement towards pervasive, low-cost infrared thermal imaging.
• The system's portability and affordability make it suitable for widespread civilian adoption.
• MTIS has the potential to extend thermal infrared imaging applications into diverse fields, especially healthcare.