Main description:

The evolution of technological advances in infrared sensor technology, image processing, "smart" algorithms, knowledge-based databases, and their overall system integration has resulted in new methods of research and use in medical infrared imaging. The development of infrared cameras with focal plane arrays no longer requiring cooling, added a new dimension to this modality. Medical Infrared Imaging: Principles and Practices covers new ideas, concepts, and technologies along with historical background and clinical applications.

The book begins by exploring worldwide advances in the medical applications of thermal imaging systems. It covers technology and hardware including detectors, detector materials, un-cooled focal plane arrays, high performance systems, camera characterization, electronics for on-chip image processing, optics, and cost-reduction designs. It then discusses the physiological basis of the thermal signature and its interpretation in a medical setting. The book also covers novel and emerging techniques, the complexities and importance of protocols for effective and reproducible results, storage and retrieval of thermal images, and ethical obligations.

Of interest to both the medical and biomedical engineering communities, the book explores many opportunities for developing and conducting multidisciplinary research in many areas of medical infrared imaging. These range from clinical quantification to intelligent image processing for enhancement of the interpretation of images, and for further development of user-friendly high-resolution thermal cameras. These would enable the wide use of infrared imaging as a viable, noninvasive, low-cost, first-line detection modality.

Contents:

Advances in Medical Infrared Imaging: An Update. The Historical Development of Thermometry and Thermal Imaging in Medicine. Infrared Detectors and Detector Arrays. Infrared Camera Characterization. Infrared Camera and Optics for Medical Applications. Physiology of Thermal Signals. Quantitative Active Dynamic Thermal IR-Imaging and Thermal Tomography in Medical Diagnostics. Dynamic Thermal Assessment. Thermal Texture Mapping: Whole-Body Infrared Imaging and Its Holistic Interpretation. Infrared Imaging of the Breast: A Review. Functional Infrared Imaging of the Breast: Historical Perspectives, Current Application, and Future Considerations. MammoVision (Infrared Breast Thermography) Compared to X-Ray Mammography and Ultrasonography: 114 Cases Evaluated. Detecting Breast Cancer from Thermal Infrared Images by Asymmetry Analysis. Application of Nonparametric Windows in Estimating the Mutual Information between Bilateral Breasts in Thermograms. Breast Cancer Screening Based on Thermal Image Classification. Fuzzy C Means Segmentation and Fractal Analysis of the Benign and Malignant Breast Thermograms. The Role of Thermal Monitoring in Cardiosurgery Interventions. Physiology-Based Face Recognition in the Thermal Infrared Spectrum. Noninvasive Infrared Imaging for Functional Monitoring of Disease Processes. Biomedical Applications of Functional Infrared Imaging. Modeling Infrared Imaging Data for the Assessment of Functional Impairment in Thermoregulatory Processes. Infrared Thermal Imaging Standards for Human Fever Detection. Thermal Imager as Fever Identification Tool for Infectious Diseases Outbreak. Thermal Imaging in Diseases of the Skeletal and Neuromuscular Systems. Functional Infrared Imaging in the Evaluation of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, Type I: Current Pathophysiological Concepts, Methodology, Case Studies, and Clinical Implications. Thermal Imaging in Surgery. Thermal Signals and Cutaneous Circulation in Physiological Research and Reconstructive Surgery. Infrared Imaging Applied to Dentistry. Laser Infrared Thermography of Biological Tissues. Use of Infrared Imaging in Veterinary Medicine. Standard Procedures for Infrared Imaging in Medicine. Storage and Retrieval of Medical Infrared Images. Ethical Obligations in Infrared Imaging Research and Practice. Index.