Dynamic measurements and uncertainty estimation of clinical thermometers using Monte Carlo method

Clinical thermometers in intensive care units are used for the continuous measurement of body temperature. This study describes a procedure for dynamic measurement uncertainty evaluation in order to examine the requirements for clinical thermometer dynamic properties in standards and recommendations. In this study thermistors were used as temperature sensors, transient temperature measurements were performed in water and air and the measurement data were processed for the investigation of thermometer dynamic properties. The thermometers were mathematically modelled. A Monte Carlo method was implemented for dynamic measurement uncertainty evaluation. The measurement uncertainty was analysed for static and dynamic conditions. Results showed that dynamic uncertainty is much larger than steady-state uncertainty. The results of dynamic uncertainty analysis were applied on an example of clinical measurements and were compared to current requirements in ISO standard for clinical thermometers. It can be concluded that there was no need for dynamic evaluation of clinical thermometers for continuous measurement, while dynamic measurement uncertainty was within the demands of target uncertainty. Whereas in the case of intermittent predictive thermometers, the thermometer dynamic properties had a significant impact on the measurement result. Estimation of dynamic uncertainty is crucial for the assurance of traceable and comparable measurements. (paper)