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Current Issues in Medical Thermography

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Topics in Medical Image Processing and Computational Vision

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computational Vision and Biomechanics ((LNCVB,volume 8))

Abstract

Digital Medical Thermal Imaging (DMTI) is a modality of medical imaging for monitoring the surface of the skin temperature. The technology evolution over the last 50 years contributed for more accuracy in the measurements and to significantly decrease the size of the equipment making them portable today. The applications of this technique in medicine are on the peripheral vascular, neurological and musculoskeletal conditions assessing and monitoring, in such areas like: cardiology, chronic diseases, dermatology, dentistry, obstetrics, occupational medicine, oncology, physiotherapy, public health, surgery and veterinary medicine. In this chapter the technique is introduced, with its historical perspective, the fundamental physics, the human physiology concepts, the equipment characterization, the existing proposals for examination protocols, the used image processing techniques, the latest developments and applications and the current limitations and challenges.

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Acknowledgments

Foundation for Science and Technology, Lisbon, through the 3° Quadro Comunitário de Apoio, the POCTI and FEDER programs, and project PEst-C/CTM/LA0025/2011 (Strategic Project—LA 25—2011–2012). Projects “AAL4ALL—Padrão de Cuidados Primários para Serviços de AAL” (nº 13852) and “Do-IT—Desenvolvimento e Operacionalização da Investigação de Translação” (nº 13853), co-financed by European Community Fund through COMPETE—Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade. We thank the Hospital de Braga (Portugal) and the collaboration from its staff in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Polymers and Composites–IPC/I3 N, University of Minho, Campus de Azurém, 4800-058, Guimarães, Portugal

    Ricardo Vardasca & Ricardo Simoes

  2. Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS/3B’s—PT Government Associate Laboratory), School of Health Sciences, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal

    Ricardo Simoes

  3. Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave, 4750-810, Barcelos, Portugal

    Ricardo Simoes

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  1. Ricardo Vardasca
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Correspondence to Ricardo Simoes .

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  1. Faculdade de Engenharia, Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica, Universidade do Porto, Dr. Roberto Frias, Porto, 4200-465, Portugal

    João Manuel R.S. Tavares

  2. Faculdade de Engenharia, Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Porto, 4200-465, Portugal

    Renato M. Natal Jorge

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Vardasca, R., Simoes, R. (2013). Current Issues in Medical Thermography. In: Tavares, J., Natal Jorge, R. (eds) Topics in Medical Image Processing and Computational Vision. Lecture Notes in Computational Vision and Biomechanics, vol 8. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0726-9_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0726-9_12

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