How thermal scanners help to deal with the pandemic?

June 15, 2023

No matter how advanced and intellectual we are, there will always be an area or technology where we may not know something or in which there will be Need for more level of competence. A few hundred years ago, people believed that the earth was flat and supported by elephants. She was convinced of her thoughts and taught her children that way; this knowledge was passed down from generation to generation. And then some madman appeared who, as it were, discovered that the earth is round, and all the knowledge of humanity, on which science was based, turned out to be false. Of course, no one listened to him; on the contrary, they executed him. However, when new currents in science began to appear, and other people not only assumed that the earth was round but also tried to prove it, our whole life changed completely. This happens all the time; regardless of our experience or beliefs about something, we have to accept that someone's evidence to the contrary may be valid.
It was the same with the extraordinary and superhuman ability to see at night. Although since the time of the tribes, every person has wanted to open the screen of darkness and discover what is hidden in it, what dangers may await, and how to overcome them. If someone had told those people at the time that there was a technology that would give you such abilities and surpass all expectations from guesswork, they would hardly have listened. However, after the First World War, when the world weakened, society felt it was not the end; it was worth preparing for the next battle. That's when the breakthrough happened. To have an advantage over the enemy, to be more nimble and more precise, and to carry out the assigned military tasks with high quality, it was simply necessary to change something in the approach of conducting hostilities, to look for new ways to victory. Only when the need was extraordinarily high and the life and health of citizens, as well as the integrity and security of countries, depended on solving this problem, only then did scientists and technologists manage to invent the device we now call a thermal imager. It became one of the critical aspects and advantages over the enemy that played against the enemy. The first thermal imager looked different from what we imagined it. It seems like long work, constant improvements, mistakes, and searching for a solution. Of course, the army was the first to touch this technology and even became the impetus for its establishment, but you should not think that this technology can be used only for military purposes; first of all, it was created to save people's lives, regardless of status, profession or opportunities In our reality, despite the global pandemic and restrictions, the thermal imager also solves many needs, which we will tell in more detail.

Brief information about thermal vision technology.
The history of development and improvement of thermal imagers happened very quickly, immediately being used on the battlefield because there was no time to sit down and think or dream how we would like it to be. During military operations, you don't think about perfection; you think about the quality and constantly make adjustments depending on the feedback and wishes of those who directly use them. The first-night vision device was quite large and heavy, but it became a real breakthrough in the military field and in general. It required four soldiers to use it if we were talking about ground troops. Also, the thermal imager was attached to armored cars, tanks, self-propelled cars, and airplanes, which made it possible to track the enemy and inflict devastating losses. Of course, it was impossible to do without thermal technology either on land, in the air, or at sea, so the ground troops, snipers, and boats were also equipped with the latest development.
The theory and principle of operation of the locomotive are based on the ratio of temperatures of the surrounding environment and objects in it. Since each body or entity has a specific temperature, several scales have been developed that show how high the object's temperature is to distinguish what we see. If it is, for example, a person, then the temperature is quite warm, and the image will range from yellow to red; if we are talking about a house that has heated up during the day in the sun, then its temperature is much lower, and the image will range from blue to purple. However, depending on the generation of the device and your choice, another scale variation, black and white, is possible. It would be best if you determined the object's temperature so that the brighter and brighter the image, the warmer the body, and the colder, the darker. If you've watched action movies, you only remember how cool the main characters look when the chase takes place throughout the film and night is approaching on the street; he lags, and the headlights are usually turned off so as not to get caught. He no longer has any motivation or strength left to continue the struggle, which he drives like a blind man randomly. Still, he takes out a pair of miraculous glasses from his pocket and sees the whole picture as if it were daytime; the image shows all the obstacles, the surrounding landscape, and the goal. If this is how you imagined using a thermal imager, then you need to be corrected. After all, the image we see is different from the image during the day since the lighting is much lower, and you need high-quality equipment to see clearly, not to mention the colors and tiny details. This is probably the main disadvantage of using such technology because there is a small margin of error, which can be very important if you are on a mission or hunting. However, the thermal imager allows one to see objects and track changes in positions in real time, which is necessary when used in any situation. All these possibilities have become so indispensable in our lives that we don't even notice how many technologies are used around us to make life go as usual and be comfortable for us. The military was the first field where a thermal imager was needed; the technology developed quite quickly before and after the victory. And although the 4th generation of night vision devices was almost perfect, scientists and technologists are still working on additional functions to make the quality of tasks even higher. Next, weapons and various military devices are partly connected with hunting. Most experienced hunters feel absolute physical satisfaction from hunting at night because it is a great experience, it is an increased danger, and therefore the adrenaline is higher; night hunting allows you to observe the night nature, and it is also an opportunity to hunt down some particular animal or bloodthirsty predator because with the help of a thermal imager can be used to track any animal and its movements. Of course, every airsoft player knows how important it is to purchase a high-quality thermal imager on time, especially when a night game is planned and you want to beat your opponents and feel how cool you are; you can't do without a thermal imager. During the search for victims after an accident or natural disaster, it is essential to find all the victims as soon as possible and provide help; it does not matter whether it is night or day, sun or rain, the most important thing is to save the lives of people and animals, so this is another area where thermal imagers have become occasion Since in most cases this technology is aimed at protecting and saving people, it is not surprising that one of the main areas of use of the thermal vision is medicine. Do not be skeptical about it because this thing can save lives.

Thermal scanners usage in medicine.
Medicine is constantly developing as new dangers for our life and health arise. Therefore, when new technologies appear, they must always be tested in medical institutions for their usefulness in diagnosis, treatment, or operations of various types of complexity. This dramatically simplifies the work of doctors and patients to understand what happened and how they can get rid of it. It was the same with thermal imagers. Since all bodies have their temperature, and the thermal imager works precisely with it, doctors are very interested in this development for diagnosing various diseases, injuries, fractures, and so on. Each infection, illness, or injury is atypical for the body, so it signals this with inflammatory processes. Often this is expressed as an increase in the general temperature of the body or a specific area. It was this understanding that freed the hands of doctors for non-contact diagnostics. This is how thermography was born. Because infections and inflammations change the temperature of particular body parts, they can be seen immediately; more in-depth investigations can be carried out, and the cause can be determined. The specific cause of the disease can be treated, not just the symptoms. Thermography is also relevant because it allows not only to view changes in real-time but also video and photo recordings to monitor specific changes and progress in treatment.

Thermal scanners and Covid-19.
Thermography technology was also actively tested to detect viral diseases like influenza, acute respiratory syndrome, or fever. Therefore, it is not surprising that when a virus of a planetary scale engulfed the world, all medical institutions and scientists began to look for its cause and ways of treatment. One of the main symptoms revealed by the research results was an elevated temperature and a burning sensation in the chest. Due to the large concentration of the malignant virus, it was in the lungs that the waxing occurred, which helped to detect the thermal imager. After all, the temperature of this zone was higher than the rest of the human body. Later, when the pandemic spread and diagnostic methods were limited, the increased body temperature became the indicator that a person was sick. And in all places with large crowds of people, doctors were stationed to measure the body temperature of all visitors. Since there are different types of thermometers, if we are talking about contact ones, the difficulty arose with their disinfection; it took time and a relatively large number to check, for example, visitors to a shopping center. That is why non-contact thermometers began to be used very quickly. They seemed to have found a way out. However, it took time to measure the temperature, and large crowds gathered in front of the entrance, who could transmit the virus by standing in line. Thus, the crossing point was turned into a small research center for a virtual reality game, as sensors and scanners were installed, passing by which it was immediately noticeable on the screen whether a person had an elevated temperature. These scanners were designed with a thermal imaging function. Thus, every shopping center, hospital, office, educational institution, or store was equipped with such scanners, which greatly simplified the diagnosis of Covid-19 and reduced its spread. Using a thermal imager made it possible to quickly, painlessly, and contactless identify people who can carry this virus and send them to additional diagnostics, thereby helping and saving others from the disease.

Conclusion
Thermal imager technology seemed relatively primitive and simple; we have already learned everything about it from videos on YouTube or while playing airsoft; one field of its use is quite broad. If in your mind, this was only a military technology, now you will know much more about the application of this device in all areas of our lives. We get used to some things so often that we stop noticing their importance, but if we take the opportunity to save the whole world from spreading a virus like Covid-19, we cannot do without thermography. This technology dramatically simplifies the diagnosis and monitoring of the development of all types of viruses, diseases, and infections; it has many configurations and additions that help the police or rescue workers when searching for the missing or during the performance of dangerous tasks, so you should not underestimate this vital contribution to science. After all, this technology is present in all our lives and helps us save our health.