THERMOLOGY AND FACIAL TELETHERMOGRAPHY - PART I - HISTORY AND TECHNICAL REVIEW

This paper is a review of historical trends and technical advances in measurement of skin temperature. Most biochemical processes generate h eat which must be dissipated. Skin is the major route for heat dissipa tion using blood as the heat exchange fluid. Skin temperature is an in dicator of aberrations in metabolism, hemodynamics or in neuronal ther moregulatory processes. Since most of the heat dissipation of skin is by infrared blackbody emission, skin temperature should be measured wi thout contact by monitoring the emitted infrared radiation. This has b een the basis of telethermography. Recent advances in computing techno logy combined with advanced infrared sensor technology has led to the development of dynamic area telethermometry (DAT) which promises to be as an important new quantitative method to analyse the pathophysiolog y of thermoregulatory processes.