Latest
Update
SARS Screening Useless: Health Canada "The
fact is, we didn't identify any SARS cases," said
Dr. David Mowat of Health Canada." The
news brief goes on to note: "Fourteen
people flew into Canada with SARS and were
not detected by the airport screeners. Another
three with the virus were able to leave."
 Update:
October 14
The Star Online reports: "Twenty cameras scan travelers as they
arrive in the immigration halls at Singapore's Changi International Airport,
translating them onto screens as ghostly outlines with blue, green and
yellow skin. Attendants wait to whisk away anyone whose skin glows red
on the screens - indicating fever - to a nearby nurse's station and then
to a hospital isolation ward if they show symptoms of SARS. The thermal
scanners, also in place at the island's ports, ferry terminals and land
entry points, could be Singapore's first line of defense against a resurgence
of SARS." Read: APEC
Leaders to Look at Tougher Measures to Fight SARS
September
25
According to news on a document release
from Health Canada, the $2 Million budget invested in implementing
a Canadian SARS screening program (utilizing infrared camera
technology) yielded poor results in preventing infected travelers
from spreading the virus.
In
May, at the height of the SARS epidemic, infrared cameras
were implemented as part of a screening program at Canada's
Vancouver and Toronto airports. In the first four weeks 450,000
people passed through the checkpoints dedicated to the screening
process, detecting no passengers with the SARS symptoms. The
Canadian screening implementation mirrored Asia's Singapore,
Hong Kong and other cities who yielded few or no results using
similar processes and equipment. Paul Gully, a senior official
with Health Canada commented on the project: "It did not
identify people with SARS". Read: SARS
Scanners Popular, But Ineffective.
August
24
The Associated Press (AP) reports: "Officials
of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speaking
Wednesday evening at a monthly meeting of researchers, said they
don’t know if SARS will reappear this fall or winter, but
they believe the virus easily could return." View
MSNBC Article
Infrared
Thermography Cameras for SARS:
Infection Detection or Fever Flag?
When
the SARS epidemic was first announced in early 2003, many individuals
turned to infrared thermography as a means to detect infected
passengers traveling throughout the world.
In
May, FLIR Systems quickly advertised: "SARS: Stopping
the Spread with Infrared." During that month, the
Business Journal of Portland published the article: Flir
receives SARS-related orders, noting that FLIR Systems
has received orders for over 50 units due to the new screening
practices for this epidemic. But the article goes on say: "However,
Canadian Health Minister Anne McLellan said that infrared cameras
'are not ideal' for screening, noting that Singapore has screened
75,000 people without detecting a single case of SARS. Infrared
cameras could flag people with a high temperature, but would
not catch those who have been infected with SARS and are not
yet showing symptoms."
Since
the posed question of the effectives of standard industrial
IR cameras for use in SARS detection has come to light, Omega
Engineering Inc. has commented on this situation by adamantly
opposing their products for use in this new, untested application:
All
OMEGA's IR devices are intended for scientific, technical
and industrial purposes ONLY. They are NOT to be used as
a diagnostic tool in relation to the SARS epidemic, since
they are NOT designed for, intended to, or capable of measuring
human body temperature.
In
order to assure that OMEGA's handheld IR devices are not
misused or misapplied, no handheld infrared thermometers
will be offered for sale outside the United States to areas
still affected by SARS (China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and
Taiwan). Handheld IR Models will only be available for
sale to qualified end users. They will not be available
to anyone for re-sale."
Raytek
Infrared, took a timely approach by defining and addressing
their IR products in detecting SARS symptoms through posting
a Q&A
about SARS and the explicit use of their products for industrial
and scientific applications.
 So...
are infrared cameras generally an effective tool for detecting
SARS?
Herb Kaplan, a long-time thermal imaging expert answers this question
in the article: Hunting SARS Using
Infrared Camera Technology. Kaplan notes the history and progression
of infrared thermography, while drawing from several historical references.
He makes some interesting comments on where infrared technology stands
in the uses for this new application.
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