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Sensors for Vital Signs

Body Temperature Sensors

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Handbook of Biochips
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Abstract

The human body is homoiothermic and has to keep its core body temperature within a narrow range around 37 °C. However, core body temperature as well as skin temperatures can vary in dependence of body heat production (e.g., through muscle activity) and climatic conditions. Core body temperature above 39–40 °C and below 35 °C can potentially lead to severe health problems and therefore, it is very important to be able to determine core body temperature precisely for patients or persons exposed to harsh climatic environments or physiological conditions like firefighters or sportspeople exercising in very hot or cold conditions. Core body temperature is not a constant value throughout the body and therefore, the invasive or noninvasive body temperature measurements are subjected to partly large uncertainties and therefore, practitioners have to be aware of the precision of the temperature sensors used. This chapter reviews the different methods of body temperature measurement and critically discusses the validity and limitations of each method.

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Correspondence to R. M. Rossi .

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Rossi, R.M., Annaheim, S. (2022). Sensors for Vital Signs. In: Sawan, M. (eds) Handbook of Biochips. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3447-4_43

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