Fraunhofer Institute for Electron BeamPower-saving OLED microdisplays for body temperature screening via thermal imaging
Within EU-funded project INNO4COV-19 Fraunhofer FEP has developed a prototype of a hand-held thermal camera system with integrated, low-power microdisplays for early and contactless detection of persons with elevated body temperature..
Thermal imaging cameras provide important information about differences in temperature in the vicinity. Depending on the application, they can, for example, visualize the body temperature of patients and visitors in hospitals from a distance or reveal problems with the thermal insulation of houses. Rapid and accurate temperature screening of elevated body temperatures, for example, can make an important contribution to the control of epidemics or pandemics and prevent the spread of infections at an early stage. The use of thermal imaging cameras to detect suspected cases is already an established method in public places, hospitals or train stations.
The INNO4COV-19 project started at the height of the Corona pandemic in late 2020 and aimed to efficiently and rapidly commercialize new products to control the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences, and to combat future pandemics. Beside electron beam technologies for the sterilization of textile materials on large surfaces, a portable system for continuous monitoring of body temperature for the earliest possible detection of infected persons was realized using OLED microdisplay technology.
The result is now a handheld device with an integrated thermal camera. The basis of the system is a tiny OLED microdisplay, which is extremely power-efficient due to its intelligent backplane architecture, and is used to visualize the data. We combined the display with an infrared sensor to create a thermal imaging camera that both measures body temperature and displays the result directly via an near-to-eye visualization.
The system converts the 2D information of the uncooled thermal camera into a color image, which is displayed on the ultra-low power microdisplay in a resolution of 320 × 240 pixels, with a display diagonal of 0.19 inches. A button can be used to set the displayed temperature range in single-hand operation. The core components of the system can easily become embedded in lightweight smart glasses, headgear, caps, personal face shields or protective equipment. Applications in disaster relief, firefighting or even troubleshooting in industrial plants benefit here from the power-saving displays and thus long battery life.
