Infrared thermography versus conventional image techniques in pediatrics: Cases study

Abstract

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 vascularization. In these cases, infrared thermography can avoid the use of biologically ionizing radiation. This is of special interest in pediatric patients who, because of their age, are more radiosensitive. We present a prospective descriptive study of 3 cases study of children with inflammatory/infectious cutaneous, osteoarticular and vascular (hemangioma) pathology. The objective of this study is double, on the one hand to evaluate the use of infrared thermography for the diagnosis and follow-up of these patients, through quantitative and qualitative analysis of the temperature differences between symmetric zones and, on the other hand, to evaluate the correlation with other imaging techniques (Ultrasonography, Computerized Tomography, Magnetic Resonance).