From: antonio@qualcom.qualcomm.com (Franklin Antonio)
Subject: Re: Thermoscan ear thermometer
Nntp-Posting-Host: qualcom.qualcomm.com
Organization: Qualcomm, Inc., San Diego, CA
Lines: 39

In article <ASHWIN.93May1225032@leo.gatech.edu> ashwin@cc.gatech.edu (Ashwin Ram) writes:
>Does the "Thermoscan" instrument really work?  It is supposed to give you a
>fast and accurate temperature reading in the ear.  How far in the ear does
>one have to insert the instrument?  Is it worth the $100 it is currently
>selling for?

No, they do not work well.  My doctor started using one recently, and I
thought the concept was so amazing that I bought one too.  

The thing works by reading the infrared emissions from the ear drum.
The ear drum is hotter than the ear canal walls, so you have to point
the thing very carefully.  This means tugging on the top of the ear
to straighten out the ear canal, then inserting the thing snugly, then
pushing a button.  Unfortunately, there are many things that can go wrong.
It is almost impossible to aim the thing correctly when you do it on 
yourself.  I get readings which differ from each other by up to 2 degrees,
and may differ from an oral thermometer by up to 2 degrees.  

I talked to one of the nurses in my doctor's office recently about this,
and she said she didn't like them either, for same reasons.  She did give
me some instruction on how to tug on my ear, and what correct insertion
feels like, but she said she thought it was impossible to do correctly
on one's self.  She also said that she and other nurses had complained to
the company about inaccurate readings, and that someone from the company
had told them to take great care to clean the infrared window at the end
of the probe with alcohol from time to time.  She demonstrated this prior
to reading my temperature, and managed to get a reading within 0.5 degree
of the oral temperature I took at home before driving to the Dr's office.

I have also noticed tha some nurses click the button, then remove the
probe immediately.  This causes wrong readings.  In my experience, you
have to leave the probe in a good 1 to 2 seconds after clicking the button
to get a good measurement.  The nurse I talked with agreed.  I suspect
that many people don't realize this, and therefore get bad readings for
yet another reason.

In short, it's a great idea.  It may work for some folks, but I believe
it doesn't work well for a person who wants to take his own temperature.

