ThermoSense: Calibrating a Thermochromic Wearable for Accurate Fever Detection
Medicine, Health, and Disease- Grade:
- 12
- Teacher:
- Jacko Kim Mabeza
This project investigates the effectiveness of thermochromic bracelets as low-cost, visual temperature indicators for health and safety applications. Thermochromic pigments change color in response to temperature due to reversible chemical interactions, making them useful for detecting temperature thresholds without electronics. In this study, bracelets with one, two, and three pigment layers were tested at 35 °C and 40 °C to examine how temperature and layer thickness affect the magnitude of color change. Color changes were quantitatively measured using the CIELAB (L_a_b*) color system, and total color difference (ΔE) was calculated to objectively evaluate the strength of the thermochromic response. Statistical analyses, including independent t-tests and one-way ANOVA, were conducted to determine the significance of temperature and layer effects. A color–temperature scale was developed using interpolation between measured data points, identifying a ΔE threshold of approximately 30 as an indicator of 38 °C, a temperature commonly associated with fever. The findings evaluate whether thermochromic bracelets can function as threshold-based warning devices rather than precise thermometers, with potential applications in public health monitoring and heat exposure awareness.
I think your presentation is put together incredibly well. I appreciated the pictures you’ve included in your methodology and the clear instructions. I think your graphs are wonderful and your statistical reasoning with your means and standard deviations are great. This was a wonderful and creative project and your conclusion includes all the information that is vital to the findings. I enjoyed your analysis about future research on this experiment and hope that you’ll be able to explore this concept more in your future!