Temperature in 2 seconds – Exergen TemporalScanner Review

During flu season, the HR department at my office was determined to sniff out anyone who had a hint of sickness so they could send the offender home. The symptom of choice was temperature. If your temperature was even a little bit high, you got kicked out of the office so you wouldn’t infect everyone else. When it comes to taking people’s temperatures, you can ask the employee to “Say Ahhh” and stick a thermometer under their tongue (which isn’t very dignified,) ask them to stick the thermometer under their pit (which is just gross,) or to take it … um…well, we won’t go there since it would probably get the employer sued for harassment. The office friendly alternative is the Exergen Temporal Scanner – a non-invasive and employee friendly way to take the temperature employees who refuse to admit they’re sick.

The Exergen TemporalScanner utilizes the temporal artery, which is located at your forehead and is directly connected to the heart by the carotid artery. As you move the thermometer across your forehead, the sensor measures the ambient air temperature as well as scans the surface of your skin to find the highest temperature. It then uses patented software to calculate an accurate body temperature. Studies have shown this method to take temperatures is accurate to within 0.2°F.

One of the most obvious benefits to the Exergen TemporalScanner is that it is 100% external. This means you don’t have to say “Ahh” or put the thermometer anywhere where the sun doesn’t shine. You can easily take the temperature of someone whether they are standing, sitting, or lying down. So if you’re child is resting in bed and you don’t want to disturb them to see if their fever has gone done, the Exergen TemporalScanner allows you to do that.

How? To take a temperature you place the scanner in the middle of the forehead, depress the blue button and then move the scanner (in either direction) towards the temple. The scanner beeps fast if it’s detecting higher temperatures and slowly beeps when temperature is constant. I’ve found it is able to get a good read in less than 3 seconds. If the “patient” is sweating, then it will cool down the temperature of the skin. If that happens, then you should take the temperature behind the ear. While that temperature probably won’t be as accurate as if you were reading the temporal artery, the area behind the ear is less affected by sweating.

Wow….I’m “hot”! I wonder if this explains why I’m cold all the time.

After a temperature is taken, the thermometer will automatically shut off after 30 seconds, or you can turn it off by hitting the blue button. What’s convenient about the Exergen TemporalScanner is that if you wanted to take a second temperature, you could do it immediately. You don’t have to shake anything to get mercury down or scrounge around in the drawers to find another plastic covering. When you’re done taking temperatures, simply place the cap back on the scanner.

The Exergen TemporalScanner is so high-tech, yet so easy to use, that the other testers and I actually had fun testing it. Have fun testing a thermometer? Why yes! We’d measure temperatures to see who was the “hottest,” wait until we’re “hot” and then cool of and then see the temperature change.

Easy to use, clean and maintain, the Exergen TemporalScanner is ideal for use at home (or in offices.) It doesn’t require any additional purchases, like probe covers, and since it doesn’t have mercury, it is considered better for the environment. It’s powered by a single 9V battery, which is included in the packaging, so you don’t need to worry about searching for special battery sizes.

The Exergen Temporal Scanner is available in stores nationwide, including WalMart, Walgreens, and Toys R’ Us for $30-$50. It’s also available for sale on Amazon for ~$32.00. For more information about the Exergen TemporalScanner, you can visit their website at www.temporalscanner.com.

To see the Exergen TemporalScanner in action, check out this clip of Grey’s Anatomy (although I suspect the producers edited out all of the beeps that tell you the scanner is measuring):