Department of Electronics and Computer Engineering, Brunel University London, Kingston Lane, Uxbridge UB8 3PH, UK.
Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, King's College London, London SE1 9NH, UK.
Sensors (Basel). 2018 Oct 3;18(10):3315. doi: 10.3390/s18103315.
Continuous and reliable measurements of core body temperature (CBT) are vital for studies on human thermoregulation. Because tympanic membrane directly reflects the temperature of the carotid artery, it is an accurate and non-invasive method to record CBT. However, commercial tympanic thermometers lack portability and continuous measurements. In this study, graphene inks were utilized to increase the accuracy of the temperature measurements from the ear by coating graphene platelets on the lens of an infrared thermopile sensor. The proposed ear-based device was designed by investigating ear canal geometry and developed with 3D printing technology using the Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Software, SolidWorks 2016. It employs an Arduino Pro Mini and a Bluetooth module. The proposed system runs with a 3.7 V, 850 mAh rechargeable lithium-polymer battery that allows long-term, continuous monitoring. Raw data are continuously and wirelessly plotted on a mobile phone app. The test was performed on 10 subjects under resting and exercising in a total period of 25 min. Achieved results were compared with the commercially available Braun Thermoscan, Original Thermopile, and Cosinuss One ear thermometers. It is also comprehended that such system will be useful in personalized medicine as wearable in-ear device with wireless connectivity.
连续、可靠的核心体温（CBT）测量对人类体温调节研究至关重要。由于鼓膜直接反映颈动脉的温度，因此记录 CBT 的鼓膜是一种准确且非侵入性的方法。然而，商用鼓膜温度计缺乏便携性和连续测量功能。在这项研究中，我们利用石墨烯油墨通过在红外热电堆传感器的透镜上涂覆石墨烯薄片来提高耳部温度测量的准确性。所提出的基于耳朵的设备是通过研究耳道几何形状设计的，并使用计算机辅助设计（CAD）软件 SolidWorks 2016 通过 3D 打印技术进行开发。它采用 Arduino Pro Mini 和蓝牙模块。所提出的系统使用 3.7 V、850 mAh 可充电锂电池运行，允许进行长期、连续监测。原始数据连续无线地绘制在手机应用程序上。该测试在 10 名受试者中进行，包括休息和运动，总时长为 25 分钟。所获得的结果与市售的 Braun Thermoscan、Original Thermopile 和 Cosinuss One 耳温计进行了比较。此外，我们还理解到，作为具有无线连接功能的可穿戴入耳式设备，这种系统将在个性化医疗中具有重要的应用价值。
