TempTraq detects rise in temperature 3 hours before conventional care

Researchers from the University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center (UH) have found TempTraq, a wearable continuous temperature monitor, capable of detecting a rise in fever temperature three hours before standard care. Published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the findings aim to improve monitoring through low-cost, efficient wearables.

Researchers examined how using the TempTraq, a patch able to securely transmit continuous temperature monitoring results to patient’s electronic health records.

"This temperature monitoring patch has the potential to improve clinical outcomes for patients undergoing stem cell transplant and intensive chemotherapy for hematological malignancies by identifying neutropenic fever and beginning clinical interventions sooner," said Ehsan Malek, MD, UH Seidman Cancer Center. "We are looking forward to the next step in our research—implementing this temperature patch in the outpatient stem cell transplant setting."

The study analyzed patients undergoing stem cell transplants or intensive chemotherapy for leukemia to measure the feasibility of using TempTraq in other hospital settings. The patch was administered every 24 hours on 10 patients, measuring body temperature every 10 minutes for a total of 14,343 readings. Compared to conventional temperature monitoring, which occurred every four hours, the patch was able to identify a rising body temperature 180 minutes before convention practices.