As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact virtually the entire world, there are aspects of our daily lives that will likely remain changed for a long time to come. One area is the need to test people for body temperature before letting them enter buildings.

We see this already in hospitals as well as travel; there is talk about requiring temperature checks once attendees are allowed to return to sporting events, amusement parks, concerts and more. The challenge is to come up with quick, accurate and relatively low-cost solutions to do this testing.

Identiv may hold the key to this need with Identiv’s uTrust SafeTemp, a wearable, flexible, self-adhesive near field communication (NFC)-enabled patch.

The uTrust SafeTemp patch is most accurately read when applied under the upper arm and can be worn for multiple days. It is read by tapping the patch with any NFC-enabled smartphone. Identiv noted that it is currently being tested on other areas of the body. Identiv is sampling prototypes in the field; interested parties can join the presale list here.

“Anyone with an NFC-enabled smartphone can use Identiv’s uTrust SafeTemp,” said Vera Mauerberger, product manager, Transponders for Identiv. “The patch itself is thin, comfortable, and skin-friendly. The solution gives anyone easy access to body temperature measurements, and that temperature data is instantly shareable with hospitals, doctors, and other healthcare workers. It’s also the simplest way to supervise body temperature in self-quarantine.”

How the Patch Works

Mauerberger noted that the patch functions with an NFC microcontroller and integrated temperature sensor.

“With each tap by an NFC-enabled smartphone, a temperature measurement is performed by the IC and a new URL is created dynamically by the firmware running on the IC,” said Mauerberger. “This URL contains queries, including the tag UID, the number of taps, the measured temperature, and hash value to prove the integrity and validity of the other queries (UID, tap-count, and temperature). A smartphone’s default handling is to open the URL in a browser. The URL points to a configured server. The server extracts the query arguments, validates them, and stores them.”

The readings are sent to the cloud, which offers a few key benefits. Customers can track their temperature over time, and if their condition changes, healthcare personnel can be alerted instantly. It can also be adapted for clinical-grade applications. The patches come in either passive (activated by NFC) or active battery models.

Identiv’s uTrust SafeTemp is useful for any type of e-health/body temperature monitoring, including body performance tracking. It’s an easy, comfortable solution for measuring and monitoring fevers in any environment, including typical at-home care.

Identiv brings a vast range of experience to this project. Identiv was formed from the combination of SCM Microsystems, Inc. (a US-based leading provider of contact and contactless smart card readers and reader modules), Bluehill ID AG (a Swiss technology company focused on RFID), and Hirsch Electronics, LLC (a US-government trusted provider of physical access control solutions since 1981).

Through internal development, targeted acquisitions, and investment, Identiv has emerged as an industry-leading company with an impressive platform of security and identification solutions.

Mauerberger said that with the threat of COVID-19 still around us, Identiv’s current focus is to support all efforts in making public environments healthier and safer.

“Identiv’s uTrust SafeTemp temperature monitoring solution makes early detection of increasing body temperature easy,” she concluded. “It also makes constant body temperature monitoring possible without keeping a clinical thermometer on-hand.”