For 26 years, Bryan Duke’s family has been in the industry of thermal imaging. Their family-owned business MFE Rentals is based in Austin and has typically found customers interested in non-destructive testing of metals.
But recently, thermography has taken on a whole new level of importance, not even Duke saw coming.
“Never in a million years did I envision this would happen,” said Duke. “But this is one tool in the toolbox to get us back to work and do it as safe as we can.”
Screening for high body temperature has become a way of detecting if a person could possibly be suffering symptoms of coronavirus. And as reopening begins to take place, businesses, stadiums, and venues could turn to thermal imaging to screen large amounts of people. Six Flags recently announced they will use thermal imaging technology to screen guests at the front gate when their parks reopen.
It is a technology Duke specializes in and now can use to help get the economy back open and people back to work. He said he has already helped outfit large employers with “Elevated Body Temperature” screeners to make sure employees are not entering the building and unknowingly spreading the virus.
“The biggest interest is coming from the plants operating 24/7 with thousands of employees and they do not want to end up a hot spot,” he said. “If we can keep that one person from coming in that could have (coronavirus), that is what we are trying to do.”
However, as the demand for thermal imaging grows, he has noticed a lot of recent competition he had never heard of until now.
“We are seeing people pop and do this stuff with no experience in thermography at all.”
Thermography programs are easy to find. There are several smartphone and tablet apps that can be downloaded, connected to a thermal image camera, and provide temperatures.
But Duke warns to beware.
For example, one demonstration video shows several people walking down a hall, some with glasses on, while the thermal image camera detects a temperature reading for each person. It all raises a big red flag to Duke.
“They are making very exaggerated claims and overstating what the equipment can do.”
According to Duke, a thermal image screener can detect a person’s temperature in just a couple of seconds. However, he said an accurate reading must be done one person at a time and without glasses or anything else impeding the inner canthus area of the eyes where the detection takes place.
Duke’s scanner detects a person’s core body temperature from the canthus area, a more telling measurement than hand thermometers or other thermal cameras which might only be detecting skin-level temperature.
“In the hot Texas sun, if you are walking inside the building from the parking lot, you can get false readings,” said Duke.
Thermal imaging could become a standard safety procedure in many areas over the course of the pandemic. Duke said he is currently working with local law enforcement and emergency management on ways they could use EBT scanners to help stop the spread.
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