iPhone Plugin Device for Measuring Body Temp
As I browse through websites looking for stuff to write about I can’t help but see some little gadgets and apps that appear to be purely for the sake of creating a gadget. Don’t get me wrong, any little gadget is fun for the nerdy side of me, but some devices are a little more practical than others.
MedGadget.com, which is full of all kinds of gadgets and devices big and small, has a short article about a device that attaches to your iPhone and can be used to measure temperatures of all kinds. The ThermoDock is a small device that plugs into the bottom of your iPhone. You then point the device at what you want measured, push a button, an infrared sensor detects the temperature, and it is logged for future reference.
Obviously there is some value in such a device, like when your kid suddenly comes down with a fever. What I don’t see though is how you would have this little attachment, but not a regular thermometer? A lot would depend on the accuracy of the device too.
Like I said before, I love little gadgets that do just about anything. At my old job at the airport, we measured the temperature of the ground just for fun, and to justify our whining (the sensor read 125 degrees). So I do see some fun in this product.
However, I don’t really see this as a ground breaking technology, but maybe I am wrong. Please leave me a comment and let me know how wrong I am, and how wonderful and useful this device could be.
I think you answered your own question. You used the device where you were, ok it was for kicks but imagine people who have trouble regulating themselves, perhaps technology like this can be used for other health conditions you aren’t familiar with. I know someone who suffered a traumatic brain injury & had trouble regulating her thermostat. If this technology could be the seed to more technology that gets at that then we can begin to help those with stroke, TBI, etc. I would think.
What i am interested in is the thought of telemedicine. inexpensive devices like these could send data to our EHR software by way of an installed app.
thanks for posting this. i wasn’t aware of this one.