Diagnostic significance of topical Image of infrared thermography on the patients with lumbar intervertebral disc protrusion —a comparative study on 45 patients with Manipulative treatment and 65 normal control

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Thermographic assessment of root canal obturation using thermomechanical compaction

The temperature changes on the root surface of 30 extracted human premolar teeth during thermomechanical root canal obturation with gutta-percha were determined using an infrared thermal imaging camera. Three handpiece rotational speeds of 8, 12 and 16 × 10³ r.p.m. were used, in conjunction with a Gutta Condensor. On completion of the procedure, the quality of tooth canal obturation was examined radiographically. Under the conditions of this experiment, surface root temperature rises of >97°C were recorded during all three speed settings. The radiographic quality of obturation between the groups appeared not to be significantly different. The clinical relevance of these findings is uncertain, but the temperatures reported are of a magnitude to be of biological importance.     

A case of extensive subcutaneous sarcoidosis

A 61-year-old female with extensive subcutaneous epithelioid cell granuloma in the back and extremities had negative tuberculin reaction, positive anti-nuclear factor (ANF) and elevated serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) level while on oral clofibrate for one-and-a-half years because of hyperlipemia. She also suffered from ischemic heart disease with pericardial effusion and dependent edema. The skin surface temperatures over the lesions were about 2°C higher than those of the surrounding normal skin. The subcutaneous lesions cleared spontaneously within 4 months after clofibrate was discontinued. Tuberculin reaction became positive and serum ACE returned to the normal level.     

An evaluation of the SpuncritTM infra-red analyser for measurement of haematocrit

Summary An open, single centre study was carried out to evaluate the accuracy of the Spuncrit^TM (Micro Diagnostics, Bethlehem, PA, USA) infra-red analyser which can be used for near-patient testing to measure haematocrit and estimate haemoglobin concentration. The primary comparison was with the Sysmex NE1500 (Tao Medical) analyser situated in the main hospital laboratory. Secondary comparison was with the Ciba Corning 288 (Ciba Corning Diagnostics Ltd, Halstead, UK) blood gas analyser currently used for near-patient testing in the Northern General Hospital. A total of 217 samples from 50 patients was analysed. The Pearson's correlation coefficients for haematocrit and haemoglobin concentration between the Spuncrit^TM and Sysmex NE1500 and between the Spuncrit^TM and Ciba Corning 288 were all close, between 0.85 and 0.92. The method of Bland and Altman was used to asses agreement between the results of the Spuncrit^TM and the Sysmex NE1500. The agreement for haematocrit was good with 2 SD of the Spuncrit^TM results being between – 5.66 and +4.42% of the measurement from the Sysmex NE1500. In conclusion, the Spuncrit^TM haematocrit measurement agreed well with results from the central laboratory, but the estimated haemoglobin concentrations agreed less well and three reasons are discussed.     

红外热像图鉴别诊断乳腺良恶性病变的价值

目的探讨红外热像图对乳腺病变性质的鉴别诊断价值.材料与方法对133例单侧乳腺病变患者(经术后病理证实恶性病变53例,良性病变80例)术前进行红外热像图扫描.分析热像图像,并记录病变区温度(T)及其与周围区的温差(△T1),患侧乳头、乳晕及全乳与对侧相应区域的温差(依次△T2,△T3及△T4).结果乳腺癌患者T、△T1、△T2、△T3及△T4值均明显高于乳腺良性病变患者.乳腺恶性病变诊断符合率为90.6%(48/53);良性病变诊断符合率为88.8%(71/80).其良恶性鉴别诊断总符合率为89.5%.结论红外热像图是鉴别诊断乳腺良恶性病变的有效影像学方法,可为临床治疗提供可靠的诊断依据.     

Thermography as a quantitative imaging method for assessing postoperative inflammation

Objective

To assess differences in skin temperature between the operated and control side of the face after mandibular third molar surgery using thermography.

Methods

127 patients had 1 mandibular third molar removed. Before the surgery, standardized thermograms were taken of both sides of the patient''s face using a Flir ThermaCam™ E320 (Precisions Teknik AB, Halmstad, Sweden). The imaging procedure was repeated 2 days and 7 days after surgery. A region of interest including the third molar region was marked on each image. The mean temperature within each region of interest was calculated. The difference between sides and over time were assessed using paired t-tests.

Results

No significant difference was found between the operated side and the control side either before or 7 days after surgery (p > 0.3). The temperature of the operated side (mean: 32.39 °C, range: 28.9–35.3 °C) was higher than that of the control side (mean: 32.06 °C, range: 28.5–35.0 °C) 2 days after surgery [0.33 °C, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.22–0.44 °C, p < 0.001]. No significant difference was found between the pre-operative and the 7-day post-operative temperature (p > 0.1). After 2 days, the operated side was not significantly different from the temperature pre-operatively (p = 0.12), whereas the control side had a lower temperature (0.57 °C, 95% CI: 0.29–0.86 °C, p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Thermography seems useful for quantitative assessment of inflammation between the intervention side and the control side after surgical removal of mandibular third molars. However, thermography cannot be used to assess absolute temperature changes due to normal variations in skin temperature over time.     

Bone marrow hypervascularity in patients with myelofibrosis identified by infra-red thermography

Summary Infra-red thermography was used to assess bone marrow vascularity in six patients with myelofibrosis secondary to myeloproliferative disorders (four primary myelofibrosis and two primary proliferative polycythaemia). The technique was evaluated with conventional static and dynamic radio-isotopic imaging and with immunohistochemical staining of bone marrow biopsies. Infra-red thermography identified increased bone marrow blood flow in patients with established myelofibrosis and correlated with dynamic radio-isotopic studies of blood flow and hypervascularity identified by immunohistochemistry. Increased bone marrow blood flow and vascular proliferation was not confined to the central bone marrow but also extended into the peripheral marrow of the long bones. Endothelial cell proliferation may be an initiating event in the pathogenesis of myelofibrosis but evaluation of bone marrow vascularity and blood flow has hitherto relied on invasive and complicated techniques. This study has identified bone marrow hypervascularity in patients with myelofibrosis and shown infra-red thermography to be a simple non-invasive method of assessing vascularity. This non-invasive technique may be used to study disease progression and response to therapeutic regimens in patients with myelofibrosis and to study bone marrow blood flow in other bone marrow disorders.     

Diabetic Foot Disease: Emerging Technologies: Repeatability of Infrared Plantar Thermography in Diabetes Patients: A Pilot Study

Objective

Infrared (IR) thermography has been used as a complementary diagnostic method in several pathologies, including distal diabetic neuropathy, by tests that induce thermoregulatory responses, but nothing is known about the repeatability of these tests. This study aimed to assess the repeatability of the rewarming index in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and nondiabetic control subjects.

Methods

Using an IR camera, plantar IR images were collected at baseline (pre-) and 10 min after (post-) cold stress testing on two different days with 7 days interval. Plantar absolute average temperatures pre- and post-cold stress testing, the difference between them (ΔT), and the rewarming index were obtained and compared between days. Repeatability of the rewarming index after the cold stress test was assessed by Bland–Altman plot limits of agreement.

Results

Ten T2DM subjects and ten nondiabetic subjects had both feet analyzed. Mean age did not differ between groups (p = .080). Absolute average temperatures of plantar region pre- (p = .033) and post-cold stress test (p = .019) differed between days in nondiabetic subjects, whereas they did not differ in T2DM subjects (pretest, p = .329; post-test, p = .540). ΔT and rewarming index did not differ between days for both groups, and the rewarming index presented a 100% agreement of day-to-day measurements from T2DM subjects and 95% with nondiabetic subjects.

Conclusions

The rewarming index after cold stress testing presented good repeatability between two days a week in both groups. Despite T2DM subjects presenting no differences on absolute temperature values between days, ΔT or rewarming index after cold stress testing remain recommended beside absolute temperature values for clinical use.