infrared thermometer heats up health care business : technology: new faster, safer and more accurate instrument measures body temperature from the ear.

Given the shortcomings of thermometers on the current market, it is understandable that healthcare professionals are excited about a new thermometer that measures body temperature quickly and accurately from a completely different perspective ---the ear.
Some companies in San Diego County are developing and selling infrared or drum thermometer to provide extremely accurate temperature readings in about two seconds.
This is in sharp contrast to the existing electronic model and the ubiquitous glass thermometer, which may take 30 seconds, and the latter may take 5 minutes to produce an accurate reading. The high-
Technical instruments do not touch the eardrum or other sensitive parts.
Instead, sophisticated electronic sensors can measure the infrared rays emitted by the eardrum.
Now, new thermometers can be used in hospitals and medical clinics, about $500 per thermometer.
But in a year, $100 worth of home cars could go public.
The infrared thermometer represents only the third major advance in centuries.
Ancient science of temperature measurement.
When it comes to the temperature of the child with illness, since the glass thermometer has been widely accepted, the change has been relatively small for more than 100 years.
Slow and subtle though, Mercury
The filling thermometer is still the preferred instrument for families around the world.
Reduced temperature burden on health-
Nursing staff in hospitals and large medical clinics, glass thermometers are gradually replaced by durable, fast and expensive electronic thermometers introduced in 1976.
Industry watchers predict that as models become cheaper and easier to use, infrared thermometers will completely change the way temperatures are acquired.
This revolution will benefit in part from the expectation that an infrared thermometer without oral or rectal insertion will significantly reduce accidental tissue tears and the spread of infectious diseases.
The thermometer \"seems to pop up soon in the hospital,\" Donald E said \". L.
Johnson, editor and publisher of today\'s health industry, Chicago-
Based on trade magazine.
Manufacturers predict that it will take less than five years for an infrared thermometer to become acute-care hospitals.
This growth curve is in sharp contrast to the electronic thermometer, which took nearly 20 years to make this urgent
Stay away from the nursing hospital Market for glass thermometer manufacturers. Carlsbad-
Based on the intelligent medical system, after more than five years of research, the first infrared thermometer was launched in 1986.
The original equipment was huge, $695 per unit and expensive.
But advances in technology have led
A hospital model that sells for less than $500.
The domestic market for electronic and infrared thermometers is estimated at $50 million to $0. 125 billion, while the global market is estimated at $100 million to $0. 16 billion.
These figures are based on an estimated temperature of 2 billion or more per year in acute weather.
Nursing hospitals in the United States.
It does not include billions of temperatures in homes, schools, doctor\'s offices, and veterinarians.
Intelligent Medical System, has sold 400 million sets of acute diseases
So far, the Nursing Hospital is a \"market leader\", said Ron benicasa, vice president of marketing and sales at the company.
The company declined to release sales and profit figures.
Several companies with proprietary technology-
Many of them happen to be in San Diego County--
Hope to seize market share from the intelligent medical system. San Diego-
Diatek, which controls about 45% of the electronic thermometer market, will launch its original infrared thermometer later this month.
Diatek, which reported $15 million in revenue in 1990, has signed a distribution agreement with Baxter Healthcare, one of the largest medical product dealers in the United States. A San Diego-based start-
John H. Up, vice president of up scan, recently launched an infrared thermometer model for hospitals and sold \"hundreds\"Hyle said.
The company will soon launch
Use a model that retails around $100 through a professional retail catalog.
Ivac in San Diego-
A subsidiary of Lilly.
In the 1970 s, the establishment of the electronic thermometer market played a certain role, and it is expected that an infrared product will be launched later this year.
The speed and accuracy of the infrared thermometer is expected to save a lot of cost for the mechanism that requires hundreds of temperatures per day.
A Kaiser Permanent hospital in Georgia using a smart medical system thermometer reported that a $595 infrared thermometer could save $600 in a year.
Doctors and nurses who used the new thermometer also realized that these instruments were notinvasive.
\"The instrument itself is first class,\" said the doctor.
Seth Pransky, a Pediatric ENT doctor in San Diego, used a model made in San Diego
Based on hot scanning.
\"I\'m not sure what the reason is --all and end-
All the thermometers, but it\'s definitely a step forward in what we have now, that\'s the thermometer in the ass or in the mouth.
\"The speed and accuracy of this new thermometer is attributed to the complex fusion of basic biology and high technology.
Unlike glass and electronic thermometers that measure temperature at the insertion point, infrared devices can accurately display the \"core\" temperature of the body, a highly accurate measurement method, can play an important role in the treatment of seriously ill patients.
The accuracy of the infrared thermometers stems from the fact that they measure the infrared readings emitted by the drum membrane, which is very relevant to the temperature of the brain part that regulates the body temperature-the lower part of the hill. Although acute-
The nursing hospital will provide initial sales and manufacturers will also focus on marketing in medical clinics, nursing homes, schools, public health clinics, and the final veterinary clinics.
However, competitors are divided on the speed at which thermometers enter potentially lucrative domestic markets.
Hyle of Thermoscan said his company\'s $100 product, which will be launched later this year, \"will attract any parent who tries to accept a screaming baby\'s body temperature at 3 in the morning.
But Benincasa, a smart medical system company, doubts consumers will buy a thermometer for $100.
\"When the price goes down, it may appear later,\" Benincasa said . \".
But the focus remains on institutions, he said.
The new thermometer seems to be customized.
Johnson said it was designed for the medical environment and health of \"patients can\'t always take thermometers\"
Caregivers who treat patients with infectious diseases, because the infrared device is not in contact with the mucosa.
In addition, the thermometer is expected to sell well in nursing homes where residents and staff are reluctant to handle rectal readings.
Manufacturers are also rushing to find disposable covers suitable for the tip of the probe in some markets.
\"It\'s an old razor and blade deal,\" said an executive from a company that produces infrared thermometers . \".
\"The real money is on the cover of the survey.