Core body temperature monitoring using the telemetric pill

Exposure to extreme weather or physical work conditions can lead to dangerous core temperature changes, and to the clinical syndromes accompanying them. Core temperature measurement is the main tool for diagnosing these syndromes. Recent technological advances particularly NASA's telemetry and miniaturizing technologies, have led to the development of a CorTemp Ingestible Temperature Sensor, or "pill". The pill is a small electronic device, which senses the body's temperature and transmits it through a radio wave signal to an external receiver. The advantage of the pill over other temperature measurement devices is that it is a simple device that enables core temperature measurement for many hours without the need of any wire connections or other cumbersome instruments. For this reason, the pill is an ideal tool for core temperature measurements in field locales or for continuous long duration temperature monitoring of ambulatory patients. The following study reviews available literature concerning the use of the pill and the validity of its measurements. A high correlation has been revealed between pill temperature measurements and rectal or esophageal measurements. Pill temperature values usually fall between the high rectal and the low esophageal measurements, considered the gold standard for core temperature measurement. A number of studies emphasizing the advantage of the pill are presented in this review.