OBJECTIVE: To explore the application value of infrared thermography in the design and harvesting of ultrathin anterolateral thigh perforator flaps. METHODS: Between June 2024 and December 2024, 9 cases of ultrathin anterolateral thigh perforator flaps were designed and harvested with the assistance of infrared thermography. There were 7 males and 2 females, aged 21-61 years (mean, 39.8 years). The body mass index ranged from 19.49 to 26.45 kg/m² (mean, 23.85 kg/m²). Causes of injury included 5 cases of traffic accident injuries and 4 cases of machine crush injuries. There were 3 cases of leg wounds, 2 cases of foot wounds, and 4 cases of hand wounds. After debridement, the size of wound ranged from 7 cm×4 cm to 13 cm×11 cm. The time from admission to flap repair surgery was 5-12 days (mean, 7 days). Preoperatively, perforator localization was performed using a traditional Doppler flow detector and infrared thermography, respectively. The results were compared with the actual intraoperative locations; a discrepancy ≤10 mm was considered as consistent localization (positive), and the positive predictive value was calculated. All 9 cases were repaired with ultrathin anterolateral thigh perforator flaps designed and harvested based on thermographic images. The size of flap ranged from 8 cm×5 cm to 14 cm×8 cm, with a thickness of 3-6 mm (mean, 5.2 mm). One donor site was repaired with a full-thickness skin graft, and the others were sutured directly. Postoperatively, anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant, and anti-vascular spasm treatments were administered, and follow-up was conducted. RESULTS: The Doppler flow detector identified 22 perforating vessels within the set range, among which 16 were confirmed as superficial fascia layer perforators intraoperatively, with a positive predictive value of 72.7%. The infrared thermograph detected 23 superficial fascia layer perforating vessels, and 21 were verified intraoperatively, with a positive predictive value of 91.3%. There was no significant difference between the two methods [OR (95%CI)=3.93 (0.70, 22.15), P=0.100]. The perforator localization time of the infrared thermograph was (5.1±1.3) minutes, which was significantly shorter than that of the Doppler flow detector [(10.1±2.6) minutes; MD (95%CI)=-5.00 (-7.08, -2.91), P<0.001]. Postoperatively, 1 case of distal flap necrosis healed after dressing change; all other flaps survived successfully. The skin grafts at donor site survived, and all incisions healed by first intention. All patients were followed up 3-6 months (mean, 4.7 months). No pain or other discomfort occurred at the donor or recipient sites. All patients with foot wounds could walk with shoes, and no secondary flap revision was required. Flaps in 3 hand wound cases, 2 foot wound cases, and 3 leg wound cases recovered light touch and pressure sensation, but not pain or temperature sensation; the remaining 2 cases had no sensory recovery. CONCLUSION Preoperative localization using infrared thermography for repairing ultrathin anterolateral thigh perforator flaps can help evaluate the blood supply status of perforators, reduce complications, and improve surgical safety and flap survival rate.
Humans ; Perforator Flap/blood supply* ; Adult ; Male ; Thermography/methods* ; Female ; Thigh/blood supply* ; Middle Aged ; Plastic Surgery Procedures/methods* ; Tissue and Organ Harvesting/methods* ; Infrared Rays ; Skin Transplantation/methods* ; Soft Tissue Injuries/surgery* ; Young Adult

Infrared thermography is an advanced technology that utilizes infrared detectors to sense the infrared thermal radiation emitted from the human body' s surface, converting it into electrical signals. These signals are then processed by computers to generate planar temperature color images, providing an intuitive display of the body surface temperature distribution. Rheumatic diseases, as prevalent conditions that significantly impact the quality of life of millions of people worldwide, pose significant challenges in diagnosis and assessment. Traditional diagnostic and evaluation methods, while possessing certain clinical value, exhibit non-negligible limitations. With the advancements and increasing popularity of infrared thermography technology, combined with the progress in medical image recognition and artificial intelligence algorithms, this technology has demonstrated increasingly prominent advantages in the field of rheumatology. By employing this non-invasive and highly efficient technique for analyzing superficial tissue thermal radiation distribution, early and precise diagnosis of rheumatic diseases, as well as dynamic monitoring of disease progression, becomes feasible. This technological advancement enhances the accuracy and efficiency of rheumatic disease diagnosis, thereby alleviating the burden on healthcare systems and optimizing the allocation of medical resources. Furthermore, infrared thermography introduces new vitality into the diagnosis and treatment monitoring of rheumatic diseases. It enables clinicians to detect subtle changes in body surface temperature that may indicate underlying inflammatory or metabolic processes associated with rheumatic conditions. This capability facilitates early intervention and personalized treatment strategies, ultimately contributing to improved patient outcomes and satisfaction. The integration of infrared thermography with advanced image processing algorithms and artificial intelligence further amplifies its potential, enabling automated analysis and interpretation of thermal images, thus reducing the dependence on manual interpretation and enhancing the reproducibility and reliability of diagnostic results. In conclusion, infrared thermography represents as a promising tool in the management of rheumatic diseases, offering a non-invasive, cost-effective, and efficient means for early diagnosis, monitoring, and therapeutic evaluation of diseases. As technology continues to evolve, the application of infrared thermography is expected to advance further in rheumatic diseases.
Thermography/methods* ; Humans ; Rheumatic Diseases/diagnosis* ; Infrared Rays ; Algorithms

Humans ; Lung Neoplasms/surgery* ; Pneumonectomy ; Thermography ; Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted

Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is a common bloody disease with a high incidence in children, but its diagnostic method is exclusive diagnosis, and the existing detection techniques are mostly invasive, which may cause secondary injury to patients and also may increase the risk of disease. In order to make up for the lack of the detection method, this study made a preliminary exploration on the diagnosis of children's ITP from the perspective of infrared thermography. In this study, a total of 11 healthy children and 22 ITP children's frontal infrared thermal images were collected, and the pattern characteristic (PFD), average temperature (Troi) and maximum temperature (MAX) characteristics of 7 target areas were extracted. The weighted PFD parameters were correlated with the platelet count commonly used in clinical diagnosis, and the sensitivity and specificity of the weighted PFD parameters for children's ITP were calculated through the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). The final results showed that the difference of the weighted PFD parameters between healthy children and ITP children was statistically significant, and the parameters negatively correlated with platelet count. Under the ROC curve, the area under the curve (AUC) of this parameter is as high as 92.1%. Based on the research results of this paper, infrared thermography can clearly show the difference between ITP children and healthy children. It is hoped that the methods proposed in this paper can non-invasively and objectively describe the characteristics of ITP infrared thermal imaging of children, and provide a new ideas for ITP diagnosis.
Area Under Curve ; Child ; Humans ; Platelet Count ; Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic ; Thermography

OBJECTIVE: To verify that whether or not through the effects of the externally and internally related meridians in treatment, Lieque (LU 7) is adopted specially for the disorders of the head and neck. METHODS: A total of 36 healthy volunteers were collected from the students of Gansu University of CM and were divided into a Lieque group and a Jingqu group according to the random number table, 18 cases in each one. In the Lieque group, Lieque (LU 7) on the unilateral side was punctured in the subjects. In the Jingqu group, Jingqu (LU 8) was taken as the control because it was located close to Lieque (LU 7) and on the same meridian. Before and after acupuncture in the two groups, separately, the infrared thermography was adopted to determine the temperature changes at the acupoints of the lung meridian of hand-, i.e. Jingqu (LU 8), Lieque (LU 7), Kongzui (LU 6), Chize (LU 5) and Tianfu (LU 3) as well as the acupoints of the large intestine meridian of hand-, i.e., Wenliu (LI 7), Shousanli (LI 10), Quchi (LI 11), Shouwuli (LI 13) and Binao (LI 14). RESULTS: After acupuncture stimulation at Lieque (LU 7), the temperature at the acupoints of the lung meridian of hand-, i.e. Jingqu (LU 8), Lieque (LU 7), Kongzui (LU 6), Chize (LU 5) and Tianfu (LU 3) and the acupoints of the large intestine meridian of hand-, i.e. Wenliu (LI 7), Shousanli (LI 10), Quchi (LI 11), Shouwuli (LI 13) and Binao (LI 14) was all higher obviously as compared with the temperature before acupuncture stimulation (all <0.05). After acupuncture stimulation at Jingqu (LU 8), the temperature at the acupoints of the lung meridian of hand- was all increased obviously as compared with the temperature before acupuncture stimulation (all <0.05), but there was no significant difference in the temperature at the large intestine meridian of hand- (all >0.05). CONCLUSION For the disorders of the head and neck, acupuncture at Lieque (LU 7) achieves the stimulation and communication of both the lung meridian and the large intestine meridians, so that it is applicable for the disorders of the externally and internally related meridians.
Acupuncture Points ; Humans ; Meridians ; Thermography

Epilepsy surgery that eliminates the epileptogenic focus or disconnects the epileptic network has the potential to significantly improve seizure control in patients with medically intractable epilepsy. Magnetic resonance-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (MRgLITT) has been an established option for epilepsy surgery since the US Food and Drug Administration cleared the use of MRgLITT in neurosurgery in 2007. MRgLITT is an ablative stereotactic procedure utilizing heat that is converted from laser energy, and the temperature of the tissue is monitored in real-time by MR thermography. Real-time quantitative thermal monitoring enables titration of laser energy for cellular injury, and it also estimates the extent of tissue damage. MRgLITT is applicable for lesion ablation in cases that the epileptogenic foci are localized and/or deep-seated such as in the mesial temporal lobe epilepsy and hypothalamic hamartoma. Seizure-free outcomes after MRgLITT are comparable to those of open surgery in well-selected patients such as those with mesial temporal sclerosis. Particularly in patients with hypothalamic hamartoma. In addition, MRgLITT can also be applied to ablate multiple discrete lesions of focal cortical dysplasia and tuberous sclerosis complex without the need for multiple craniotomies, as well as disconnection surgery such as corpus callosotomy. Careful planning of the target, the optimal trajectory of the laser probe, and the appropriate parameters for energy delivery are paramount to improve the seizure outcome and to reduce the complication caused by the thermal damage to the surrounding critical structures.
Anterior Temporal Lobectomy ; Craniotomy ; Drug Resistant Epilepsy ; Epilepsy ; Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe ; Hamartoma ; Hot Temperature ; Humans ; Laser Therapy ; Malformations of Cortical Development ; Neurosurgery ; Sclerosis ; Seizures ; Thermography ; Tuberous Sclerosis ; United States Food and Drug Administration

This article reviews the historical development and up-to-date state of thermometric technologies for measuring human body temperature (BT) from two aspects: measurement methodology and signifi cance interpretation. Since the fi rst systematic and comprehensive study on BT and its relation to human diseases was conducted by Wunderlich in the late 19th century, BT has served as one of the most fundamental vital signs for clinical diagnosis and daily healthcare. The physiological implication of BT set point and thermoregulatory mechanisms are briefl y outlined. Infl uential determinants of BT measurement are investigated thoroughly. Three types of BT measurement, i.e., core body temperature, surface body temperature and basal body temperature, are categorized according to its measurement position and activity level. With the comparison of temperature measurement in industrial fi elds, specialties in technological and biological aspects in BT measurement are mentioned. Methodologies used in BT measurement are grouped into instrumental methods and mathematical methods. Instrumental methods utilize results of BT measurements directly from temperature-sensitive transducers and electronic instrumentations by the combination of actual and predictive measurement, invasive and noninvasive measurement. Mathematical methods use several numerical models, such as multiple regression model, autoregressive model, thermoregulatory mechanism-based model and the Kalman fi lter-based method to estimate BT indirectly from some relevant vital signs and environmental factors. Thermometry modalities are summarized on the dichotomies into invasive and noninvasive, contact and noncontact, direct and indirect, free and restrained, 1-D and n-D. Comprehensive interpretation of BT has an equal importance as the measurement of BT. Two modes to apply BT are classifi ed into real-time applications and long-term applications. With rapid advancement in IoT infrastructure, big data analytics and AI platforms, prospects for future development in thermometry and interpretation of BT are discussed.
Basal Bodies ; Body Temperature ; Delivery of Health Care ; Diagnosis ; Human Body ; Humans ; Methods ; Thermometers ; Thermometry ; Transducers ; Vital Signs

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of infrared thermography in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome by comparing with electrodiagnostic and ultrasonographic findings.METHOD: From January 2014 to October 2017, electrodiagnosis, ultrasound, and digital infrared thermal image (DITI) of unilateral carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosed in a single hospital were retrospectively analyzed. The subjects with bilateral symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes, thyroid disease, fibromyalgia, rheumatic disease, systemic infection, inflammation, malignant tumor, and other musculoskeletal disorders such as finger osteoarthritis, peripheral neuropathy, cervical radiculopathy, and the previous history of surgery were excluded.RESULTS: Of 53 patients diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome, 11 were male and 42 were female. The visual analogue scale was 4.9 ± 1.9, and the duration of symptom was 11.8 ± 12.5 months. There was no statistically significant difference in the body surface temperature between the unaffected and affected sides. The severity of symptoms, electrodiagnostic findings, and cross-sectional area of the median nerve significantly correlates to each other. The temperature difference between the second fingers of the affected and unaffected sides showed a weak correlation with the amplitude of sensory nerve action potential and onset latency of compound muscle action potential, when there was no significant correlation with the other parameters.CONCLUSION: The difference in temperature on the surface of the body, which can be confirmed by DITI, is little diagnostic value when DITI is performed in unilateral carpal tunnel syndrome patients, especially when compared with ultrasonography.
Action Potentials ; Carpal Tunnel Syndrome ; Electrodiagnosis ; Female ; Fibromyalgia ; Fingers ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Male ; Median Nerve ; Methods ; Osteoarthritis ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases ; Peripheral Vascular Diseases ; Radiculopathy ; Retrospective Studies ; Rheumatic Diseases ; Thermography ; Thyroid Diseases ; Ultrasonography

BACKGROUND: A stellate ganglion block (SGB) causes increased blood flow in the maxillofacial region, exhibiting the potential for regenerative effects in damaged tissue. The focus of this study was to understand the efficacy of SGB for regenerative effects against nerve damage. A rat model of the superior cervical ganglion block (SCGB) was created instead of SGB, and facial blood flow, as well as sympathetic nervous system function, were measured. METHODS: A vertical incision was made on the left side of the neck of a Wistar rat, and a 5-mm resection of the superior cervical ganglion was performed at the back of the bifurcation of the internal and external branches of the left common carotid artery. Blood flow in the skin at the mandibular angle and mean facial temperature were measured using a laser-Doppler blood flow meter and a thermographic camera, respectively, over a 5-week period after the block. In addition, the degree of ptosis and miosis were assessed over a period of 6 months. RESULTS: The SCGB rat showed significantly higher blood flow at the mandibular angle on the block side (P < 0.05) for 3 weeks, and significantly higher skin temperature (P < 0.05) for 1 week after the block. In the SCGB rat, ptosis and miosis occurred immediately after the block, and persisted even 6 months later. CONCLUSIONS: SCGB in rats can cause an increase in the blood flow that persists over 3 weeks.
Animals ; Carotid Artery, Common ; Horner Syndrome ; Miosis ; Models, Animal ; Neck ; Rats ; Regional Blood Flow ; Skin ; Skin Temperature ; Stellate Ganglion ; Superior Cervical Ganglion ; Sympathetic Nervous System ; Thermography

PURPOSE: The objective of this study is to determine the effect of physical changes on MR temperature imaging at 7.0T and to examine proton-resonance-frequency related changes of MR phase images and T1 related changes of MR magnitude images, which are obtained for MR thermometry at various magnetic field strengths. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An MR-compatible capacitive-coupled radio-frequency hyperthermia system was implemented for heating a phantom and swine muscle tissue, which can be used for both 7.0T and 3.0T MRI. To determine the effect of flip angle correction on T1-based MR thermometry, proton resonance frequency, apparent T1, actual flip angle, and T1 images were obtained. For this purpose, three types of imaging sequences are used, namely, T1-weighted fast field echo with variable flip angle method, dual repetition time method, and variable flip angle method with radio-frequency field nonuniformity correction. RESULTS: Signal-to-noise ratio of the proton resonance frequency shift-based temperature images obtained at 7.0T was five-fold higher than that at 3.0T. The T1 value increases with increasing temperature at both 3.0T and 7.0T. However, temperature measurement using apparent T1-based MR thermometry results in bias and error because B1 varies with temperature. After correcting for the effect of B1 changes, our experimental results confirmed that the calculated T1 increases with increasing temperature both at 3.0T and 7.0T. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the temperature-induced flip angle variations need to be considered for accurate temperature measurements in T1-based MR thermometry.
Bias (Epidemiology) ; Fever ; Heating ; Hot Temperature ; Magnetic Fields ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Methods ; Protons ; Signal-To-Noise Ratio ; Swine ; Thermometry