A device that allows you to measure body temperature was created by a group from the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering (FEEC) and is already working at the Faculty's entrance. The prototype, which alerts the academic community about a possible fever, one of the most common symptoms of Covid-19, was developed by FEEC professor Leandro Tiago Manera, and by students and former students Sérgio Olivo, Alexandre Burche and Acaiene Cardoso Dourado . The system has the advantage of not requiring a person to measure the temperature, creating greater safety in the process. Furthermore, the production cost was at least ten times lower than similar products available on the market.
Professor Leandro explains that the device uses a camera, with a matrix of 160x120 sensors, of high sensitivity, which measures people's infrared radiation. When the measured temperature is below 37,5º, the screen displays an “ok” message. If it is above, the message is “not ok”. The person who passes through the device will see the message on the monitor and, in case of fever, is advised to seek care. “The principle is almost the same as those common meters used to measure temperature on the forehead and arm. But what we are using is like an imaging camera that measures infrared radiation from the skin. We are using a matrix of many more points to measure temperature”, he explains.
By eliminating the need for a person to handle the equipment, the measurement process is also safer. “It's an autonomous system, so it prevents a person from having a thermometer measuring the temperature of all the people passing by, which might even be a way of spreading the disease. The person passes in front of the camera and has the result there in five seconds. It’s an advantage over the thermometer”, says the professor.
After testing the prototype, which is already in operation at FEEC, the idea is that the device can also be developed for other units at Unicamp. A patent for the technology, which had been created in 2019 with the aim of diagnosing diseases in animals, is deposited at the University's Innovation Agency, Inova.
Next step: help with diagnoses
Temperature measurement, although important for controlling Covid-19, is not the end point of the project, as explained by Sérgio Olivo, who also worked on creating the device. In a period of time sufficient to create a robust image bank, the idea is to carry out, through Artificial Intelligence (AI), diagnoses of throat infection, which is one of the common symptoms of Covid-19.
“In the following phases, using this data that we are collecting now, we hope that it will form a database and so that we can then feed AI algorithms to start carrying out analyzes on two fronts: identifying whether the person has a temperature above or below normal and assessment of the person's throat. This prototype we have today is a mechanism and a step to get there,” he explains.
Technologies as allies in controlling the pandemic
The director of FEEC, José Alexandre Diniz, comments that, in addition to measuring temperature, an application is being developed at the Faculty that can monitor the movement of people inside the building. Helping to trace contacts, in case of infection, is the objective. In addition, a totem that dispenses alcohol gel automatically, without the need to activate it with your foot or hand, was also designed and placed at the main entrance of FEEC, which is currently the only entrance door to the building.
“The idea of having these mechanisms to control infection within the unit is very important. We need to use the technology that we have and that is made in our group”, says Diniz.
Furthermore, he also points out that other FEEC projects have been carried out to help control the pandemic. The method that uses Artificial Intelligence to help diagnose Covid-19 through X-ray images and lung tomography, carried out by professor Letícia Rittner and professor Roberto Lotufo; 3D printing of face shields, repairs and manufacturing of parts for essential devices for hospitals, such as monitors and respirators, are some examples.
“Every attempt to use what we already have in terms of technology has affected our creativity during this time of pandemic when, even in isolation, we have been looking for alternatives to improve and expand the detection of the virus. The university needs to provide solutions for society and we are acting in this sense”, says the director.
