The step-temperature technique can be used to measure bio-tissue thermal physical parameters. During the derivation of the step-temperature technique, the measuring probe was assumed to be made of single thermistor sensing element, and the electrical power was assumed to be uniformly distributed throughout the probe bead. However, the probe bead in reality is made of multi-layer structure, and the electrical power is not uniformly distributed throughout the probe bead. In this paper, a mathematical model is built for the step-temperature technique for multi-layer structure probe bead, and a numerical simulation is made to analyze the effects of probe configuration. The physical meaning of the calibrated values of the probe parameters (bead radius and bead thermal conductivity) is also explained theoretically. The results show that the step-temperature technique is still valid for the measurement of bio-tissue thermal physical parameters for the multi-layer structure thermistor probe bead on condition that the bead radius and the bead thermal conductivity are obtained through pre- calibration.
Biomedical Engineering ; methods ; Body Temperature ; Body Temperature Regulation ; Humans ; Models, Theoretical ; Thermal Conductivity ; Thermography ; instrumentation ; Thermometers

We treated 20 patients suffering from uncertainty statements syndrome (USS) with stellate ganglion block (SGB) therapy. The medical infrared thermography was examined before and after the SGB therapy. Analysis on the changes of surface temperature as well as the outcome of the patients was carried out. Among the mentioned 20 patients, 15 (75%) got obvious effect, 4 (20%) fairly good effect and 1 (5%) a little improvement after the SGB therapy. The corresponding surface temperatures of these patients were 1.32 +/- 0.27 degrees C, 0.97 +/- 0.31 degrees C, and 0.76 +/- 0.33 degrees C, respectively. The more the surface temperature changed, the better the efficacy of the therapy was. The medical infrared thermography may objectively represent the therapeutic effect of SGB on the USS.
Autonomic Nerve Block ; Fatigue ; therapy ; Humans ; Pain ; Stellate Ganglion ; Syndrome ; Thermography ; methods

Facial paralysis is a frequently-occurring disease, which causes the loss of the voluntary muscles on one side of the face due to the damages the facial nerve and results in an inability to close the eye and leads to dropping of the angle of the mouth. There have been few objective methods to quantitatively diagnose it and assess this disease for clinically treating the patients so far. The skin temperature distribution of a healthy human body exhibits a contralateral symmetry. Facial paralysis usually causes an alteration of the temperature distribution of body with the disease. This paper presents the use of the histogram distance of bilateral local binary pattern (LBP) in the facial infrared thermography to measure the asymmetry degree of facial temperature distribution for objective assessing the severity of facial paralysis. Using this new method, we performed a controlled trial to assess the facial nerve function of the healthy subjects and the patients with Bell's palsy respectively. The results showed that the mean sensitivity and specificity of this method are 0.86 and 0.89 respectively. The correlation coefficient between the asymmetry degree of facial temperature distribution and the severity of facial paralysis is an average of 0.657. Therefore, the histogram distance of local binary pattern in the facial infrared thermography is an efficient clinical indicator with respect to the diagnosis and assessment of facial paralysis.
Facial Paralysis ; diagnosis ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Infrared Rays ; Pattern Recognition, Automated ; methods ; Skin Temperature ; Thermography ; instrumentation

The history of the radiological examination of the breast has been long, and recently the methods forexamining the breast are variable: mammography, thermography, xeroradiography, ultrasonography, water-pathsonography, transillumination, mammary C.T., M.R. Imaging, infra-red scanning, nuclear medicine, andgalactography. Most of these methods were not proven or have not been satisfied on their clinical testing butconventional mammography has been the gold standard for diagnosis of the breast cancer and no other method hasreached its effectiveness. The authors performed mammography in 488 patiens with breast abnormalities who hadvisited to Yeung Nam University hospital form May, 1983 to Dec. 1984. And we analyzed the mammographic findingsand diagnostic accuracy in pathologically confirmed 53 cases by operations or biopsies. The results are asfollows: 1. Among 16 cases of breast malignancies, (1) the most prevalent age group is 6th decade(37.5%), followedby 5th decade(31.3%), (2) the most common pathologic type is ductal carcinoma(93.75%), (3) the masses are largerthan 2cm, in 8 cases, smaller than 2cm. in 5 cases, and no visible mass is observed in 3 cases. 2. Among 37 casesof benign breast diseases, (1) the most prevalent age group is 4th & 5th decades(each11 cases), and followed by3rd decade(8 cases), (2) the most common disease is benign tumor (17 casees), followed by fibrocystic dysplasia(13cases), and inflammating disease(7 cases). (3) radiologically visible masses are observed in 16 cases and themasses are smaller than 2cm. in 11 cases. 3. the diagnostic accuracy of mammography compared with that ofpathology, (1) in malignancy, the accuracy rate is 75%(12/16 cases), and 87%(32/37 cases) in benign diseases. (2)avearage accuracy rate is 81%(44/53 cases).
Biopsy ; Breast Diseases ; Breast Neoplasms ; Breast ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Mammography ; Methods ; Nuclear Medicine ; Thermography ; Transillumination ; Ultrasonography ; Xeroradiography

Dynamic infrared thermography (DIRT) has been used for the preoperative mapping of cutaneous perforators. This technique has shown a positive correlation with intraoperative findings. Our aim was to evaluate the accuracy of perforator mapping with DIRT and augmented reality using a portable projector. For this purpose, three volunteers had both of their anterolateral thighs assessed for the presence and location of cutaneous perforators using DIRT. The obtained image of these “hotspots” was projected back onto the thigh and the presence of Doppler signals within a 10-cm diameter from the midpoint between the lateral patella and the anterior superior iliac spine was assessed using a handheld Doppler device. Hotspots were identified in all six anterolateral thighs and were successfully projected onto the skin. The median number of perforators identified within the area of interest was 5 (range, 3–8) and the median time needed to identify them was 3.5 minutes (range, 3.3–4.0 minutes). Every hotspot was correlated to a Doppler sound signal. In conclusion, augmented reality can be a reliable method for transferring the location of perforators identified by DIRT onto the thigh, facilitating its assessment and yielding a reliable map of potential perforators for flap raising.
Methods ; Patella ; Perforator Flap ; Skin ; Spine ; Surgery, Computer-Assisted ; Thermography* ; Thigh* ; Volunteers

Liquid crystal thermography is a new diagnostic imaging method detecting the temperature change by the physiologic disturbance as compared with the radilogic method detecting the anatomical distortion. We have used liquid crystal thermography in 54 patients with complaining low back pain during the period form 2nd. March 1989 to 30th. April 1989. Of these 54 patients, 35 had myelography and C-T scan, 23 had EMG, and 13 were operated upon. 1. There were 35 clinically positive patients on whom concomitant myelography and C-T scan was performed; 32 patients(91%) had a positive myelography and C-T scan, and 30 patients (86%) had a positive thermography. Of these 35 patients, 23 had EMG concomitantly; 17 patients(74%) had a positive EMG and 18 patients(78%) had a positive thermography. 2. Liquid crystal thermography correlated with myelography and C-T scan in 31 patients(89%), EMG in 18 patients(78%). 3. Concomitant thermography, myelography and C-T scan, and surgery were performed on 13 patients among them EMG was added on 5 patients; Myelography and C-T scan had 100% accuracy, thermography had 92% accuracy, and EMG had 80 % accuracy. 4. Liquid crystal thermography is non-invasive method, dose not involve the use of ionizing radiation, and correlates well with clinical and surgical findings and other diagnostic methods, and costs relatively low. So, liquid crystal thermography is useful and reliable diagnostic method in patients with low back pain.
Diagnostic Imaging ; Humans ; Liquid Crystals ; Low Back Pain ; Methods ; Myelography ; Radiation, Ionizing ; Thermography

According to the results of analyzing the microwave-induced thermoacoustic signals, the amplitude and frequency were estimated and the designing parameters of preprocessor were decided. Based on the parameters, the signals preprocessor was designed with the band pass frequency ranging from 50 KHz to 3MHz, the gain ranging from 55 dB to 105 dB and the output noise being 1.32 V when the input was zero and the gain was 105 dB. The de-noising method of thermoacoustic signals was also discussed. The signals can be picked up by the preprocessor combined with the digital multipoint average method. The amplitude of signals is only 5 microV or even less. The results indicated that the preprocessor can meet the needs of thermoacoustic signals acquisition in bandwidth, gain and noise control.
Acoustics ; instrumentation ; Algorithms ; Biophysical Phenomena ; Computer-Aided Design ; Equipment Design ; Microwaves ; Thermography ; instrumentation ; methods ; Tomography ; instrumentation ; methods

The differences of body surface temperature reflect the changes of the status of body tissues. In this regard, detecting and forecasting the changes of the surface temperature is the objective of the technique of medical thermal diagnosis, and how to diagnose the disease earlier with the use of thermal images is a common problem in the field of medical diagnostics and biological engineering. The authors put forward that utilizing the soft-sensing techniques in the field of engineering will be a good solution.
Body Temperature ; Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted ; Humans ; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted ; methods ; Infrared Rays ; Neural Networks (Computer) ; Skin Temperature ; Thermography ; methods

OBJECTIVETo dynamically assess drug targeting of Yougui Pill (YP) and Zuogui Pill (ZP) using infrared thermography.

METHODSIn this self-control experiment, five healthy volunteers were recruited. By using infrared thermography 10 to 11 thermal images of different body locations were taken from each participant after they took warm water, YP, ZP, and their dissembled prescriptions at 30, 70, 100, 130, and 160 min, respectively. The heat values in the lower quadrant abdomen, uterus, Du channel, and Shenque (CV8) were statistically analyzed after scanning for 125 times.

RESULTSAdministration of YP and its disassembled prescriptions enhanced the heat value of the locations of the Du channel and Shenque (CV8), but did no enhance the heat value of the lower quadrant abdomen at 30 min. Administration of ZP and its disassembled prescriptions reduced the heat value in the locations of the lower quadrant abdomen, uterus, Du channel, and Shenque (CV8) at each time point.

CONCLUSIONThe drug targeting of ZP and YP focused on the locations of the Du channel and Shenque (CV8), not on the locations of the lower quadrant abdomen or uterus.

Adult ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Humans ; Infrared Rays ; Thermography ; methods ; Young Adult

According to the coupling relationship of electromagnetic field, thermal field and acoustic field during the time that microwave irradiates the biological tissues, we conducted a study on the microwave-induced thermoacoustic tomography forward problem. In the study, we started from the thermoacoustic wave propagation that incorporated the spatial inhomogeneities of thermal and acoustic properties, and we used a method based on the finite element to solve the thermoacoustic equation. As the penetration depth and the specific absorption rate changed with the microwave frequency in biological tissue, the hotspot position and value altered, so the pressure wave propagation and the detecting value would be influenced. By analyzing the simulation results, we found that different detection point has different information content. Because the microwave-induced acoustic waves contain abundant information about the structural, electromagnetic and acoustic properties of phantom, they can reflect information on the tissue composition and structure of the phantom effectively.
Acoustics ; instrumentation ; Adipose Tissue ; anatomy & histology ; Biophysical Phenomena ; Humans ; Microwaves ; Muscle, Skeletal ; anatomy & histology ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Thermography ; methods ; Tomography ; instrumentation ; methods