Introduction

Skin temperature can be measured continuously with BIOPAC equipment.

Availability, Support and Use-case

For availability of skin temperature equipment within your group, contact your lab coordinator. Skin temperature devices from BIOPAC can be borrowed from SOLO through the Helpdesk. 

Protocol

Below, a general protocol of measuring skin temperature is described. Note that an adequate training is required before working with physiological data acquisition equipment and collecting such data from participants. If you are uncertain about the procedure, please contact your supervisor or lab coordinator.

Setup

Equipment

Skin temperature can be measured with the BIOPAC SKT100C (wired). It is important that the equipment has the correct settings (switches at the front of the module) dependent on measuring absolute or relative temperature. In AcqKnowledge, the skin temperature channel should be set-up and calibrated accordingly. See BIOPAC SKT100C and the SKT100C product sheet for more info.

Transducers

SKT100C
The SKT100C is used with a temperature transducer (see an overview Fast Response Thermistor). At SSH Leiden only the TSD202A is available.

Materials

For SSH researchers, supplies can be picked up at SOLO 1B11 in PdlC or 2.5.01 in Sylvius, see lab supplies for more info.

• Skin temperature equipment (see Setup)
• Gloves
• Medical tape
• Incidin OxyWipe

Thermistor placement

Skin temperature can be measured anywhere on the skin. The skin is not cleaned/prepared before placing the thermistor. To place the thermistor:

• Put on gloves
• Place the thermistor on the skin and secure with medical tape. Make sure to use enough medical tape so that the thermistor is secure.
• Make sure the lead is not pulling.
  • When attaching the thermistor on the face, have the wires go over the ear to relieve tension.
  • Use medical tape or a clip that is attached to the lead to secure the lead to the participant's clothes or the participant's chair.

Cleaning up

• Put on disposable gloves.
• Remove the thermistor. Removing the medical tape can be painful for some people, make sure to be gentle. 
• Discard of the medical tape.
• Gently clean the TSD202A thermistor with Incidin OxyWipe (make sure the wipe is not too wet). Make sure the transducer is disconnected while cleaning.

Tips & Tricks

• Make sure the equipment is set-up correctly dependent on measuring absolute or relative temperature and make sure the the temperature channel in AcqKnowledge is set-up accordingly, see BIOPAC SKT100C  and the SKT100C product sheet for more info.
• Check the temperature signal before starting actual data collection. Skin temperature is lower than body temperature with an average of around 32/33 ºC.