Evaluation of wireless determination of skin temperature using iButtons
Open accessAbstract
Measurements of skin temperatures are often complicated because of the use of wired sensors. This is so in field studies, but also holds for many laboratory conditions. This article describes a wireless temperature system for human skin temperature measurements, i.e. the Thermochron iButton DS1291H. The study deals with validation of the iButton and its application on the human skin, and describes clinical and field measurements. The validation study shows that iButtons have a mean accuracy of -0.09 degrees C (-0.4 degrees C at most) with a precision of 0.05 degrees C (0.09 degrees C at most). These properties can be improved by using calibration. Due to the size of the device the response time is longer than that of conventional sensors, with a tau in water of 19 s. On the human skin under transient conditions the response time is significantly longer, revealing momentary deviations with a magnitude of 1 degrees C. The use of iButtons has been described in studies on circadian rhythms, sleep and cardiac surgery. With respect to circadian rhythm and sleep research, skin temperature assessment by iButtons is of significant value in laboratory, clinical and home situations. We demonstrate that differences in laboratory and field measurements add to our understanding of thermophysiology under natural living conditions. The advantage of iButtons in surgery research is that they are easy to sterilize and wireless so that they do not hinder the surgical procedure. In conclusion, the application of iButtons is advantageous for measuring skin temperatures in those situations in which wired instruments are unpractical and fast responses are not required.
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The diurnal rhythm of proximal skin temperature is more complex but under real-life conditions appears to vary in phase with the distal skin temperature rhythm.
“The diurnal rhythm of the proximal skin temperature (e.g., infraclavicular region, sternum) is more complex but, under real-life conditions, appears to vary in phase with the distal skin temperature rhythm [48,49].”
From Human thermal perception and time of day: A review (2021) · cites this paper as [48]
Distal skin temperature varies with the time of day.
“Distal skin temperature (i.e., temperature of hands and feet) has also been reported to vary with the time of day [5,6,48,49].”
From Human thermal perception and time of day: A review (2021) · cites this paper as [48]
Reliable long-term assessment of skin temperature in field studies has recently become as feasible as actigraphic assessments of sleep-wake rhythms has been for many years.
“Since the reliable long-term assessment of skin temperature in field studies has recently become as feasible as actigraphic assessments of sleep–wake rhythms has been for many years [82, 87, 90, 91], it would be of value to assess skin temperature profiles in large cohorts of people with and without sleep complaints.”
From Sleep, vigilance, and thermosensitivity (2012) · cites this paper as [82]
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- Authors
- VANMARKENLICHTENBELT, W., DAANEN, H., WOUTERS, L., FRONCZEK, R., RAYMANN, R., SEVERENS, N., & VANSOMEREN, E.
- Affiliations
- Maastricht University (NL)
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (NL)
- Eindhoven University of Technology (NL)
- Corresponding author
- VANMARKENLICHTENBELT, W
- Venue
- Physiology & Behavior
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2006-07-30
- Volume
- 88
- Issue
- 4-5
- Pages
- 489-497
- ISSN
- 0031-9384 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2150134525
- Cited by
- 392
- References
- 18
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 24 · 2017: 28 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 26 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 26 · 2012: 21
- FWCI
- 7.51
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Physiology & Behavior (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- TU/e Research Portal (publishedVersion)
- VU Research Portal (publishedVersion)
- Research Publications (Maastricht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- TU/e Research Portal (submittedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Thermoregulation and physiological responses
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Circadian rhythm and melatonin
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine › Thermal Regulation in Medicine
- Keywords
- skin temperature measurement, iButton, wireless temperature sensor, sensor accuracy and precision, sensor calibration, sensor response time, circadian rhythm, sleep, cardiac surgery, thermal physiology, field measurements
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Algorithms, Circadian Rhythm, Data Interpretation, Statistical, Environment, Controlled, Female, Cardiac Surgical Procedures, Humans, Hypothermia, Induced, Intraoperative Period, Male, Microcomputers, Skin Temperature, Sleep, Telemetry, Temperature, Reproducibility of Results
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