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Swine catching

As a part of the global effort to stop the spread of the Swine Flu, Opgal, an Israeli high-tech company, announced the launch of a thermal imaging system that can detect individuals with elevated body temperatures in airports, train stations and other transportation hubs.

The Fever Detector and Alarm System (FDA) is based on infra-red thermal imaging technology that can detect differences in body temperature smaller than 0,5°C. One of the symptoms of Swine Flu is a high body fever of over 38°C. The FDA system can flag individuals with elevated body temperatures that pass within its detection cameras. The announcement by OPGAL comes just after the World Health Organization raised its pandemic alert level to Phase 5, the next-to-highest level in the worldwide warning system.

The Fever Detector & Alarm System consists of an uncooled, highly-sensitive infrared thermal camera integrated with customised software and sophisticated algorithms. The system screens realtime thermal images to detect individuals passing through its field of view whose body temperatures exceed a pre-set threshold. When the camera detects such an individual it gives off an alarm and the specific person can be pulled aside for further evaluation.

“This non-invasive system can be immediately deployed in airports and other transportation hubs since it does not require any special infrastructure,” says OPGAL’s CEO, Dror Sharon. “Because it can scan large groups of people at a time, it will be useful in keeping the flow of passengers moving and enable public gatherings during these difficult times.”

Over the past few weeks, before the system was officially released to the market, OPGAL sold dozens of its IR cameras to system integrators to be implemented as part of their own applications for Swine Flu detectors. In 2003 OPGAL sold more than 300 units of a similar thermal scanner to Asian nations during the SARS crisis.

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