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A temperature probe measures a baby's skin temperature. The probe is part of an environmental control system used to help regulate a baby's body temperature.
A small device is held in place on the surface of a baby's skin. Temperature measurements are transmitted by a long wire to a probe, which also connects to a warmer. Different types of warmers are used, depending on where a baby is lying. Readings from the probe automatically adjust the temperature of a baby's isolette or overhead heater. When a baby's skin temperature is too low, the probe signals a warmer to increase the amount of heat it gives out. A skin temperature that is too high signals the warmer to reduce heat.
These devices are used in a variety of hospital settings, such as delivery rooms, to warm babies immediately after birth and in neonatal intensive care units (NICU).
Last Revised: March 22, 2013
Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review: Sarah Marshall, MD - Family Medicine & Kimberly Dow, MD, FRCPC - Neonatology
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