1. Thermal Gain. An actual 1.0�C (1.

8�F) temperature differ-

ence between two locations on a target should be detected
and displayed as a 1.0�C (1.8�F) temperature difference
by a properly calibrated thermal imager; i.e., the Thermal
Gain should be 1.0. This 1:1 relationship should remain
constant whether the measurement is near room tem-
perature (Troom, ~20�C/68�F), body temperature (Tbody,
~37�C/98.6�F), or at any temperature in between. If the
thermal gain is in error, a 1.0�C (1.8�F) temperature dif-
ference on a target may be displayed by the imager as only
0.2�C (0.36�F) or some other wrong value, making the
quantitative measurements erroneous, yet the qualitative
image may still appear completely normal by adjusting the
color span.2 As the quantitative interpretation of human
thermograms relies heavily on differential temperature
measurements, assuring a Thermal Gain between 0.95 and
1.05 (preferably 1.0) across the physiologic temperature
range is of paramount importance.
2. Temperature Offset. This refers to the temperature dif-
ference between the target surface temperature detected
by the infrared imager and the actual temperature of that
surface. Temperature offset and thermal gain are related:
if the imager�s offset value is stable across the physiologic
temperature range, the thermal gain will be 1.0 over those
temperatures. Stable offset values up to �2�C (3.6�F) are
typical for professional microbolometer imagers.
3. Temperature Flatness. �Flatness� measures the consis-
tency of a constant temperature object as sensed at different
regions of the image, usually measured at the center and
four corners of the image at Troom. The imager should be
fully warmed up before this test so that the imaging chip has
reached a stable temperature. The flatness of the image at
Tbody can also be measured by using a Blackbody Calibrator.