【2020 Solutions】 Fever Monitoring Gadget: Small Temperature Patch for 24-hour Observation
A stamp-sized flexible temperature patch became an essential tool for fever monitoring amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with orders soaring to over 500,000 units in just two months, proving useful for home isolation and medical quarantine.
iWEECARE, established just five years ago, has created the world's smallest connected smart thermometer, Temp Pal, which offers remote continuous temperature monitoring and alerts. iWEECARE has integrated a temperature sensor into a 3-gram, stamp-sized flexible patch, which is stuck under the arm's skin and can continuously monitor temperature between 36 to 48 hours without interruption, transferring temperature data via Bluetooth to a mobile app and cloud backend, displaying real-time temperature changes and setting fever alerts.
In this epidemic response effort, the rejuvenated hospital, equipped with negative pressure isolation wards, installed a temperature monitoring system. Unlike the common forehead or infrared temperature monitoring methods, the hospital uses Temp Pal smart temperature patches developed by iWEECARE, which are only stamp-sized (3*3 cm), stuck under the patient's skin under the arm, combined with a low-power Bluetooth receiver, allowing continuous monitoring of the patient's temperature, recording every 5 minutes. If a case of fever is detected, the system will notify medical staff proactively, enabling them to accurately monitor the patient's condition and handle it promptly, thereby enhancing patient safety care.

▲像郵票一樣大小的體溫貼片
醫院設置即時體溫貼片監控系統 節省超過6萬件防護衣耗損
振興醫院表示,引進監控體溫的即時體溫貼片監控系統,對隔離患者進行24小時體溫監測,醫護人員可以在不進入隔離病房的前提下,事先擷取到病患重要的生理數據,在提昇照護品質同時,醫護人員進出隔離病房的頻率可以減半,1個月即可節省約6萬5千多件防護衣的損耗。
The Temp Pal smart thermometer is not just small and capable of continuous temperature monitoring; its biggest feature is the ability to 'actively and continuously monitor multiple people's temperatures,' ideal for group quarantine and mass isolation in hospitals, achieving efficient and thorough results.
Kang Ying-Cen, the marketing director of iWEECARE, mentioned that initially, the 'Temp Pal wearable smart thermometer' was mainly used in maternity centers or by new parents to continuously measure a baby's temperature, monitoring the temperature trends of newborns and early prevention of potential harm. Unlike standard thermometers that measure at singular moments and require manual adjustment every 4-6 hours, the smart thermometer, with its personal and soft design, does not cause any discomfort to the baby and monitors temperature continuously. If the temperature deviates from normal values, the mobile app will also sound an alarm to prevent scenarios where the fever could lead to grave consequences.

▲將體溫貼片貼於腋下,36小時監控寶寶的體溫
精準掌握基礎體溫 備孕效果佳
由於連網智慧體溫計蒐集了使用者的體溫趨勢的數據,未來透過AI演算法的導入,對於婦女的排卵期有精準的掌握,一般而言,適孕婦女的「基礎體溫」是指在較長時間的睡眠(約6~8小時)後,尚未進行任何活動前(含起身下床)所測得的體溫,且每天需於相同的時間進行,此為人在一天當中最低的體溫點。在健康的身體狀態之下,溫度曲線會隨著週期間的排卵而產生升高溫的現象,也就是說,即基礎體溫在排卵日當天會升溫,想要懷孕的女性可以藉此作為受孕及避孕的基礎。
現階段除了台灣外,連網智慧體溫計也銷售至東南亞、新加坡、加拿大及歐洲等地區,其中,位於泰國,屬東南亞最大的私人醫院集團在2019年底也開始採用 Temp Pal Group System(添寶群體監測體溫系統),該醫院目前在泰國各城市有 40 家分院。以往體溫正常者平均每 4 小時護理人員要量測病患體溫一次,體溫異常者則每 1 小時需量測一次,而採用 Temp Pal 群體監測體溫系統後,智能體溫貼片每次充電可使用長達 36 小時,每日最高可減少 23 次的體溫量測頻次,估計可節省每日每單位護理人員 2.5 小時以上的時間。

▲體溫貼片以藍芽傳輸,透過手機APP傳輸溫度變化
愛微科兩位創辦人為有電池設計專長的曾軍皓及擅長韌體開發的張和逸,一開始對於穿戴式智慧體溫貼片在台灣屬於第二類醫療器材的規定認知有誤,第二類醫材要上市,不光是要取得政府核發許可證,還得通過臨床前測試,而在歐美要通過認證,至少要花一年的時間,日本市場則需要投入兩到三年通過認證,難度更高。未來1-3年內,愛微科仍將持續研發新型的態體溫貼片,以提供更多元服務。

▲愛微科兩位創辦人
「Translated content is generated by ChatGPT and is for reference only. Translation date:2024-05-19」