Accuracy and response time comparisons of four skin temperature-monitoring devices

Although technological improvements in skin surface temperature-measurement devices have progressed since they were first used clinically, the question of their accuracy and reliability for skin temperature monitoring still remains. The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy and response time to temperature change for four temperature-monitoring devices: liquid crystal (Crystaline ST, Sharn, Inc, Tampa, Fla), two different thermistor sensors (RSP, Respiratory Support Products, Inc, Irvine, Calif, and SHER-I-TEMP, Sheridan Catheter Corp, Argyle, NY), and one thermocouple-based temperature sensor (Mon-a-therm, Mallinckrodt, Inc, St. Louis, Mo). A temperature-controlled steel surface plate was used as the reference temperature source for test comparisons. The results showed that Crystaline ST (liquid crystal device) performed better in the accuracy and response time tests than the electronic thermistor and thermocouple temperature-sensor devices tested. Regression analysis of the reference temperature comparisons showed that although all four devices had high correlation coefficients Crystaline ST had the highest correlation (R = 0.99685). Also, the regression equation for Crystaline ST was closest to a perfect fit with reference temperatures, ie, slope = 1.00267 and intercept = 0.20333 (P = .0000). Crystaline ST responded consistently faster than the other devices for each change in temperature setting (5, 10, 15, and 20 degrees F). Crystaline ST responded within 3.5 to 4.4 seconds for every temperature gradient change tested. All three of the other sensor devices had increasingly longer response times as the temperature gradient increased.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)