A reappraisal of the use of infrared thermal image analysis in medicine

Infrared thermal imaging of the skin has been used for several decades to m onitor the temperature distribution of human skin. Abnormalities such as ma lignancies, inflammation, and infection cause localized increases in temper ature which show as hot spots or as asymmetrical patterns in an infrared th ermogram. Even though it is nonspecific, infrared thermology is a powerful detector of problems that affect a patient's physiology. While the use of i nfrared imaging is increasing in many industrial and security applications, it has declined in medicine probably because of the continued reliance on first generation cameras. The transfer of military technology for medical u se has prompted this reappraisal of infrared thermology in medicine. Digita l infrared cameras have much improved spatial and thermal resolutions, and libraries of image processing routines are available to analyze images capt ured both statically and dynamically. If thermographs are captured under co ntrolled conditions, they may be interpreted readily to diagnose certain co nditions and to monitor the reaction of a patient's physiology to thermal a nd other stresses. Some of the major areas where infrared thermography is b eing used successfully are neurology, vascular disorders, rheumatic disease s, tissue viability, oncology (especially breast cancer), dermatological di sorders, neonatal, ophthalmology, and surgery.