Health technology company Withings has teamed up with French design company Elium Studio to create a thermometer that uses non-invasive methods to take children's temperatures (+ movie).

Unlike traditional thermometers, Thermo only needs to be scanned across the forehead and can take readings from up to one centimetre away from the skin.

The pen-shaped device, which was designed together with Paris-based Elium Studio, measures temperature from the forehead's temporal artery, relying on 16 infrared sensors to quickly measure the hottest area.

Although it can be used on people of any age, it is primarily being marketed to parents of babies, whose temperatures have previously been taken rectally.

Thermo's reading is adjusted by an algorithm to take into account ambient temperature and skin heat. The thermometer vibrates to alert users to the final reading.

Adjusting the reading for the subject's age, Thermo provides colour-coded feedback – green for normal, orange for elevated, red for high – showing what range the temperature lies in.

"Withings Thermo was designed to finally provide families with a solution that they can trust to provide highly accurate temperature readings in seconds, without having to wake the ill child or manually log their health levels," said Cedric Hutchings, vice-president of digital health at Nokia Technologies, which acquired Withings earlier in 2016.

Withings has already released several activity trackers and a wireless blood pressure monitor.

Thermo uses Wi-Fi to connect to an accompanying app that tracks temperatures, sends measuring reminders, and integrates with an online tool that gives people insights into caring for people with fevers.

Another non-invasive thermometer has come from San Francisco studio New Deal Design, whose device uses sticky, lightning-bolt-shaped strips to take temperatures.

Thermo made its debut at CES 2016 and has achieved US Food and Drug Administration clearance for market.