Development of single-pixel infrared imaging thermometry (SPIRIT) for fast and accurate COVID-19 fever screening

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Mass fever screening, as the most effective way to control the spread of these pandemic diseases, is vital to reduce the impact of COVID-19 to Canada. However, existing methods for mass fever screening is largely inefficient due to limited sensitivity in temperature measurement, which is attributed to easy interference by ambient parameters, low resolution, and incorrect ways of deployment. This NSERC COVID-19 Alliance project aims to develop single-pixel infrared imaging thermometry (SPIRIT) for mass COVID-19 fever screening via an academia-industry collaboration between INRS and Ajile Light Industries Inc. (ALI). In particular, we propose to complete this objective by three specific Aims that involve the development of hardware and software of the SPIRIT system and the application of the SPIRIT system in measuring the temperature of humans. INRS and ALI will provide necessary and complementary expertise that encompasses all research tasks proposed in this application. Both sides are committed to frequent interaction and communication to ensure the on-time execution and fast progress of this project and to facilitate the technology transfer. ALI will continually invest in this direction to quickly commercialize the proposed technique. SPIRIT will provide fast, passive, non-contact temperature measurement. It is superior to existing infrared thermography techniques in terms of temperature sensitivity, system cost, and compactness. Altogether, SPIRIT presents a novel engineering achievement highly attractive to the industries of imaging and sensing. More importantly, SPIRIT has great potential for being deployed at airports, ports, train stations, border crossings, and schools to detect people with fever and limit the spread of diseases. The collaborative and innovative SPIRIT will contribute to winning the battle against COVID-19.