Avalon Airport is the first in Australia to use COVID-testing kiosks after the HealthGate machine was approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
Designed and manufactured in Australia by Elenium, the fever-testing machine uses artificial intelligence to analyse and measure a person’s face to see if they have a fever.
The machines are already employed in public facilities such as healthcare centres, event venues and now Avalon Airport.
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Avalon chief executive Justin Giddings hopes the technology would further advance the airport’s plan to allow international arrivals to live in cabins near the terminal.
The airport will install 18 kiosks in the terminal and will be part of check-in and bag-drop facilities and located at security screening checkpoints.
“One of the critical differences between HealthGate and other devices is the sophistication of our sensors,” said Elenium chief Aaron Hornlimann.
“Thermometers that are relied upon in the market simply measure a person’s skin temperature at their forehead, which only tells you the temperature of that single spot, not whether they have a fever.
“HealthGate takes accurate readings of specific areas on a person’s face, like the inner canthi or the tear duct, where the blood vessels are near the surface of their skin. This is more likely to show whether a person has a fever.”
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Elenium’s airport check-in systems also include touchless and voice-activated sensors that can determine if a person is showing symptoms of COVID-19.
The technology is also being trialled in the aged-care sector at Nagambie HealthCare, a regional hospital and aged-care provider in Victoria.
An Elenium survey revealed that 88 per cent of people would be more honest about whether they felt unwell if they knew they would undergo health screening before being allowed entry to an event and 83 per cent supported health screening technologies as a way to reduce the risk for themselves and their loved ones.
“By combining the health declaration with fever detection technology, HealthGate will influence and drive behavioural change with the public,” said Mr Hornlimann.
Would you like to see more of this technology installed in other buildings or at events? Where would you most like to see them? Shopping centre entrances? Public transport entry points? Why not make your suggestions in the comments section below?
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