Pathophysiological expression and analysis of far infrared thermal images

Clinical far infrared (FIR) imaging is a measurement technique applied to images of temperature distribution on the skin surface. It is a noninvasive analysis tool for physiological functions related to skin-temperature control. The imaging modality has been termed thermography, tele-thermography, or infrared thermography. FIR image processing for medical use has been developed independently in each thermography system because each sensor and scanning system was developed independently. The lack of standardized image handling has been a great barrier to the popular use of FIR imaging systems in clinical medicine. However, recent FIR sensor technology has brought forth some standard output protocols. Therefore, there is now a better opportunity to develop standard FIR image-processing software for medical imaging. This article is the first proposal for such trials. Computer processing methods have been developed and tested that make it possible to reduce diagnostic ambiguity and complexity. This article proposes eight thermophysiological expressions, called thermatomes, as well as standardized analytical procedures using computed image processing. These methods have demonstrated the possibility of a standardized thermographic image diagnosis procedure