A Comparative Study of Non-contact Infrared and Digital Rectal Thermometer Measurements of Body Temperature in the Horse

Measurement of body temperature in 300 dogs with a novel noncontact infrared thermometer on the cornea in comparison to a standard rectal digital thermometer

“…In human patients, NCIT temperature is commonly measured on the forehead, resulting in temperatures very similar to RDT results; differences <0.1°C between methods have been reported . This is similar to temperature differences measured by NCIT on the premaxillary gingiva, taken at the mucogingival junction in horses compared to the rectal temperature . In the present study, NCIT temperature on the cornea was on average 0.5°C lower compared to the rectal temperature.…”

“…29,30,44 This is similar to temperature differences measured by NCIT on the premaxillary gingiva, taken at the mucogingival junction in horses compared to the rectal temperature. 40 In the present study, NCIT temperature on the cornea was on average 0.5°C lower compared to the rectal temperature. The cornea was chosen because-according to manufacturer's instructions-a hairless area has to be used.…”

“…Several studies have evaluated infrared auricular thermometers in dogs, 2,7,11,12,16,19 cats, 36,37 and other species 1,17,20 with various results. Veterinary use of the noncontact infrared technology at other locations than the ear has so far only been performed in monkeys, 33,38,39 guinea pigs, 34 and horses, 40 all with poor results.…”

“…In human patients, repeatability of the NCIT is good, most likely because the midforehead was used, resulting in a much larger measuring area. [27][28][29]42,43 Rectal temperature was up to 8.3°C higher than NCIT measurements on various hair covered body parts in owl monkeys, cynomolgus macaques, and horses, 33,39,40 indicating that measuring haired skin in animals with an NCIT device will be of little value. In human patients, NCIT temperature is commonly measured on the forehead, resulting in temperatures very similar to RDT results; differences <0.1°C between methods have been reported.…”

Field testing two animal-specific non-contact thermometers on healthy horses

“…Both infrared thermography cameras (Johnson et al, 2011) and human non-contact infrared thermometers (NCIT) have been investigated as alternatives to rectal temperature measurement in horses (Ramey, Bachmann, & Lee, 2011). Skin temperatures measured at the axilla were up to 15 o C lower than RT so deemed not clinically useful, but gum temperature was reported to reliably identify elevated body temperatures in febrile horses (Ramey et al, 2011). However, gum temperature measurement relies on the horse tolerating lip retraction, which not all horses allow, and the gingival temperature can be affected by drinking cold water.…”