Title:The Clinical Application of Infrared Thermal Imaging in Lumbocrural Pain
Volume: 14
Author(s): Xiao Chen*Yongbing Hu
Affiliation:
- Department of Pain, Xiangyang No. 1 People`s Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, 15 Jiefang Road, Xiangyang, Hubei 441000,China
Keywords:
Lumbar disc herniation, infrared thermal imaging, lumbocrural pain, diagnosis, MRI, osteoarthritis.
Abstract: Objectives: Our study aimed to investigate the role of infrared thermal imaging in differential
diagnosis of Lumbar Disc Herniation (LDH). 180 patients with lumbocrural pain and
clinically suspected of having LDH were selected from January 2015 to March 2016 during their
hospitalization in Xiangyang No. 1 People’s Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine.
Methods: 62 of those cases were diagnosed by X-ray Computed Tomography (CT), 70 by Magnetic
Resonance Imaging (MRI), and 48 by both. The signal value of infrared thermal images was
estimated by comparing the images of patients with LDH with that of control patients.
Results: In this study, LDH were found in 120 cases by infrared thermal imaging. The infrared
thermal images of lumbosacral area of all those 120 cases showed a diamond-shaped asymmetric
high temperature zone with deepened color compared with surrounding area. Among the 120 cases,
30 cases showed unchanged temperature of affected leg compared with control group; 48 cases
showed decreased temperature of the affected limb; 17 cases showed increased body temperature
of the affected limb; 25 cases showed both decreased and increased temperatures found in different
areas of the affected limb.
Discussion: Analyses of the combined data of infrared thermal images, clinical histories and
physical examinations resulted in 60 cases to be more accurately diagnosed with different conditions
which share the same symptom with LDH (28 cases of myofascial syndrome, 11 cases of
coxitis, 16 cases of joint osteoarthritis, 3 cases of femoral head necrosis, and 2 cases of varicose
veins).
Conclusion: Compared with the conventional imaging examination, such as CT and MRI, infrared
thermal imaging showed a higher diagnostic value for LDH.