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Cardiac radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has received substantial attention for the treatment of multiple arrhythmias. In this scenario, there is an ever-growing demand for monitoring the temperature trend inside the tissue as it may allow an accurate control of the treatment effects, with a consequent improvement of the clinical outcomes. There are many methods for monitoring temperature in tissues undergoing RFA, which can be divided into invasive and non-invasive. This paper aims to provide an overview of the currently available techniques for temperature detection in this clinical scenario. Firstly, we describe the heat generation during RFA, then we report the principle of work of the most popular thermometric techniques and their features. Finally, we introduce their main applications in the field of cardiac RFA to explore the applicability in clinical settings of each method.

During the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the implementation of non-contact infrared thermometry (NCIT) became an increasingly popular method of screening body temperature. However, data on the accuracy of these devices and the standardisation of their use are limited. In the current study, the body temperature of non-febrile volunteers was measured using infrared (IR) thermography, IR tympanic thermometry and IR gun thermometry at different facial feature locations and distances and compared with SpotOn core-body temperature. Poor agreement was found between all IR devices and SpotOn measurements (intra-class correlation coefficient <0.8). Bland–Alman analysis showed the narrowest limits of agreement with the IR gun at 3 cm from the forehead (bias = 0.19°C, limits of agreement (LOA): −0.58°C to 0.97°C) and widest with the IR gun at the nose (bias = 1.40°C, LOA: −1.15°C to 3.94°C). Thus, our findings challenge the established use of IR thermometry devices within hospital settings without adequate standard operating procedures to reduce operator error.

This research was funded by the EU Regional Development Fund (FEDER) and the Spanish Government under the R+D initiative INNPACTO with reference IPT-2011-1447-920000, ENE-2013-42720-R and RETOS-COLABORACION RTC-2015-3795-3.

Monitoring soil water content at high spatio-temporal resolution and coupled to other sensor data is crucial for applications oriented towards water sustainability in agriculture, such as precision irrigation or phenotyping root traits for drought tolerance. The cost of instrumentation, however, limits measurement frequency and number of sensors. The objective of this work was to design a low cost “open hardware” platform for multi-sensor measurements including water content at different depths, air and soil temperatures. The system is based on an open-source ARDUINO microcontroller-board, programmed in a simple integrated development environment (IDE). Low cost high-frequency dielectric probes were used in the platform and lab tested on three non-saline soils (ECe1: 2.5 < 0.1 mS/cm). Empirical calibration curves were subjected to cross-validation (leave-one-out method), and normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) were respectively 0.09 for the overall model, 0.09 for the sandy soil, 0.07 for the clay loam and 0.08 for the sandy loam. The overall model (pooled soil data) fitted the data very well (R2 = 0.89) showing a high stability, being able to generate very similar RMSEs during training and validation (RMSEtraining = 2.63; RMSEvalidation = 2.61). Data recorded on the card were automatically sent to a remote server allowing repeated field-data quality checks. This work provides a framework for the replication and upgrading of a customized low cost platform, consistent with the open source approach whereby sharing information on equipment design and software facilitates the adoption and continuous improvement of existing technologies.

The use of plant-based indicators and other conventional means to detect the level of water stress in crops may be challenging, due to their difficulties in automation, their arduousness, and their time-consuming nature. Non-contact and non-destructive sensing methods can be used to detect the level of water stress in plants continuously and to provide automatic sensing and controls. This research aimed at determining the viability, efficiency, and swiftness in employing the commercial Workswell WIRIS Agro R infrared camera (WWARIC) in monitoring water stress and scheduling appropriate irrigation regimes in mandarin plants. The experiment used a four-by-three randomized complete block design with 80–100% FC water treatment as full field capacity and three deficit irrigation treatments at 70–75% FC, 60–65% FC, and 50–55% FC. Air temperature, canopy temperature, and vapor pressure deficits were measured and employed to deduce the empirical crop water stress index, using the Idso approach (CWSI(Idso)) as well as baseline equations to calculate non-water stress and water stressed conditions. The relative leaf water content (RLWC) of mandarin plants was also determined for the growing season. From the experiment, CWSI(Idso) and CWSI were estimated using the Workswell Wiris Agro R infrared camera (CWSIW) and showed a high correlation (R2 = 0.75 at p < 0.05) in assessing the extent of water stress in mandarin plants. The results also showed that at an altitude of 12 m above the mandarin canopy, the WWARIC was able to identify water stress using three modes (empirical, differential, and theoretical). The WWARIC’s color map feature, presented in real time, makes the camera a suitable device, as there is no need for complex computations or expert advice before determining the extent of the stress the crops are subjected to. The results prove that this novel use of the WWARIC demonstrated sufficient precision, swiftness, and intelligibility in the real-time detection of the mandarin water stress index and, accordingly, assisted in scheduling irrigation.

Potato ( .) production in semi-arid regions requires precision irrigation management to address water scarcity, highlighting the critical need for real-time, non-destructive plant water status assessment techniques. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of measuring the leaf-air temperature difference (LAD) as an indicator for diagnosing potato water status. A field experiment was conducted with five irrigation levels (0-300 mm) to evaluate LAD responses at three leaf positions (L , L , and L ) across different growth stages. The results demonstrated that LAD significantly correlated with irrigation levels, plant water content (PWC), and soil moisture, with the strongest relationships observed for the fourth leaf from the top (L ). L exhibited the highest sensitivity to water status, the lowest variability among plants. A binomial regression between LAD and yield was identified, revealing a threshold LAD beyond which further LAD increases did not enhance the yield. These findings not only suggest that LAD can be a reliable indicator for monitoring potato water status but also identify L as the optimal leaf position for LAD-based water status monitoring. The study provides a foundation for precision irrigation in potato production, enabling improved water use efficiency and sustainable potato production in a semiarid region.

Statistical methods are employed to assess the extent to which measurements of temperature using downward looking infrared thermometry (T0) are indicative of the effective boundary between the air and the subsurface environment. An effective interfacial surface temperature (Te) is determined from consideration of in-air (Ta) and subsurface (Ts) temperature data, being that which best satisfies the multi-media (air and soil) flux relationships. Using data obtained in studies conducted in Ohio in 2015, it is shown that during the daytime measured values of T0 exceeded Te by an amount reaching a near-noon maximum of about 2 °C when the crop (maize) was fully grown. Night-time observations indicated a near equality of T0 and Te, although often equality appears threatened by the presence of strongly stable layers in air near the surface. Ramifications of the observed differences are discussed, with particular attention to implications regarding determination of the thermal roughness length associated with the sensible heat flux.

The application of flap surgery is becoming more and more widespread with the development of microsurgical techniques. Currently, postoperative blood flow monitoring of flaps is still mainly assessed by medical staff for traditional clinical parameters, which has the disadvantage of being subjective and unable to monitor in real‐time. This study describes a self‐contained infrared wireless infrared thermometry device for flap blood supply monitoring and evaluates its effectiveness on eight porcine flap models. A scapular muscle flap model was established using eight small pigs, and the vessels were ligated at irregular intervals using a lumir ligature to simulate arterial crisis and venous crisis. Laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF), the wireless infrared thermometry device, and traditional clinical observation methods were applied to monitor the blood supply of the flap and evaluate the effect. The time to the determination of blood supply disturbance by wireless infrared thermography (IRT) was 28.75 ± 3.30 min and 96.5 ± 27.09 min for the arterial and venous groups, respectively; by LDF was 6.00 ± 1.41 min and 52.75 ± 15.76 min; by clinical observation was 42.00 ± 8.60 min and 156.50 ± 40.91 min, respectively. Paired t‐tests were performed between the wireless IRT device and clinical observations, and the statistical results were significantly different in the arterial group and not significantly different in the venous group. Paired t‐testing of the wireless infrared thermometry device with the LDF also showed significant differences in the arterial group and non‐significant differences in the venous group. This wireless infrared thermometry device outperforms traditional clinical observation methods in monitoring blood supply in a porcine skin flap model. Because of its low cost, real‐time monitoring, simple operation, and non‐invasive features, it has the potential to be used in clinical practice as a routine means of postoperative blood supply monitoring in flap surgery.

Objective:To determine accuracy of infrared thermometer for detection of fever as compared to mercury thermometer. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place andDuration of Study: Department of Medicine, Combined Military Hospital Peshawar, fromMaytoJun 2020. Methodology: All willing adult patients reporting to the fever desk were selected by consecutivesampling. Exclusion criteria included any dermatological condition affecting forehead and unwillingness. Forehead temperature was first checked twice using Kinlee FT3010 infrared thermometer. Axillary temperature was then recorded using a standard clinical mercury thermometer. Results: There were 538 patients, including 251 (46.65%) males and 287 (53.35%) females, aged 46.76± 12.44 years. Median temperatures recorded with infrared and mercury thermometers were 97.00°F (interquartile range: 95.10-97.80°F)and 98.30°F (interquartile range: 98.00-98.90°F) respectively (p<0.001). Intra-class correlation was 0.143 (95% CI -0.052, 0.323). There was a weak to moderate correlation (R: 0.366; p<0.001) between temperatures recorded by the two techniques. ROC curveanalysis for temperatures recorded by infrared thermometerrevealed an area under curve of 0.725 at a threshold of 98.6°F and 0.746 at a threshold of 100.4°F defined by mercury thermometer. Infrared thermometer had sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of 13.61% and 9.38%, 97.95% and 99.80%, 71.43% and 75.00%, and 75.10% and 95.57% for thresholds of 98.6°F and 100.4°F respectively. Conclusion: Infraredthermometer underestimatestemperatures recorded by mercury thermometer. Limits of agreement are too broad, indicating inconsistency in measurements. A significantly lower threshold is required to improve the sensitivity of Infrared thermometerin picking up fever.

Observations of the near-surface components of the vegetated terrestrial air–surface system during and around the complete solar eclipse of 21 August 2017 were made in the U.S.A. at three sites of intensive measurement in Tennessee and at a number of locations in Idaho. Data obtained relate to a variety of surfaces, from barren to forest. Results reveal details of how the atmospheric, vegetative, and soil components of the ecosystem respond to a short-term change in incoming radiation. In particular, the role of vegetation as it contributes to thermal storage is demonstrated. The observations enable examination of the lags involved as the influence of the reduction in incoming radiation propagates through the environment. The variety of sites reveals the following: (a) the change in the surface temperature as measured using infrared thermometry followed quickly after the change in incoming solar radiation; (b) the sensible heat flux became negative for about 30 min around the time of the total eclipse; (c) CO2 fluxes reversed in sign; (d) latent heat fluxes continued after the sensible heat flux reversed in sign (these last two observations indicate the role of soil efflux of CO2 and water vapour); (e) changes in air temperature lagged, dependent upon surface vegetation and the observation height; (f) the lull in wind speed commonly associated with an eclipse was observed to be shallow, extending vertically to a few tens of metres; and (g) the magnitude of the air-temperature response to the eclipse depended on site-specific factors, but a few tens of metres above the surface the site-specificity disappeared.