Application of infrared thermography as a complementary technique to conventional imaging techniques in paediatrics: case studies

摘要

The use of infrared thermography has been shown to be useful in several areas. Its applicability in medicine is based on the fact that the skin emits spontaneously and continuously infrared radiation, whose body distribution is symmetrical in a healthy individual. Infrared thermography can offer an alternative to X-rays for a large number of diseases related to peripheral circulation, and so can avoid the use of biologically ionising radiation. This is of special interest in paediatric patients who, because of their age, are more radiosensitive. We present a prospective descriptive study of four children with haemangioma, cutaneous infection, infectious and inflammatory osteoarticular disorders. The objective of this study is double, on the one hand, to evaluate the use of infrared thermography for the diagnosis and follow-up, through quantitative and qualitative analysis of the temperature differences between symmetric zones and, on the other hand, to apply infrared thermography in paediatrics in combination with standard imaging techniques.