Thermometers to keep tabs on the body temperature are in growing demand in the face of the lingering threat of SARS, meningitis and avian influenza.
With this upsurge in consumer demand came also a proliferation of thermometers of various types in the market.
The Consumer Council has joined forces with the French consumer body, the Union Federale des Consommateurs, which co-ordinated a test on these products based largely on the European Standard EN 12470 and US Standard ASTM E1965-98.
Included in the test were 14 models covering a vast price range (from $10 to $698) and comprising 7 ear thermometers, 3 frontal, 2 electronic, 1 multi-functional and 1 mercury-in-glass.
The results of the test are useful and instructive to consumers not only on the accuracy of the thermometers but also the correct ways for their usage in order to get as much an accurate temperature reading as possible.
First and foremost, the samples were put to tests in laboratory and/or clinically with volunteers aged between 11/2 and 95 years for accuracy measurements.
Overall, the commonly used electronic and mercury samples fared well consistently in the laboratory test for accuracy and response time.
Though the measurement deviations among the samples in general were very minor, few of the ear samples could achieve full compliance with the required standard of not more than the maximum permissible error of ±0.2oC.
This could be due to the design and way of application of the ear and frontal samples, which might affect the accuracy of these samples. Some practices will be desirable by the users to grasp the technique for accurate temperature reading.
For ear thermometers, the tip is pulling the earflap to the back would usually enhance more accurate measurement. For the frontal, the measurement location should be on the side of the forehead (temple), above the eyebrow and close to the hairline.
To test their reliability, the electronic and ear samples were dropped in a free fall from one meter height on a wooden floor. The electronic samples remained unaffected while only 4 of the 7 ears samples remained accurate in the laboratory test. So, handle a thermometer with care and avoid excessive impact.
For more details, consult the test report in this February issue of CHOICE.
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