Abstract
Purpose
Infrared thermography is an imaging tool that captures infrared radiation emitted by the body, which helps in the diagnosis of inflammatory diseases. The aim of this research was to evaluate the feasibility of the use of thermal imaging in the diagnosis of repetitive strain injuries (RSI) in the wrist and hand joints.
Methods
Thermal images were collected from the wrist and hand region of 33 volunteers. From these total, there were 23 volunteers with complaints of pain in one hand and wrist, due to RSI in their daily working activities (study group); while the other 10 volunteers had no complains (control group). The volunteers underwent clinical assessment by an orthopedist and were also associated through the ultrasound evaluation. Thermal imaging analysis was performed in the wrist and hand joints complaining regions and compared with the healthy side/limb. The thermal variations, i.e., based on the infrared imaging temperature measurements, were compared between the study and control groups, through the clinical and ultrasound diagnoses by the Anova, Bonferroni, and LSD tests.
Results
Between the study group, there was a significant difference with p = 0.037 for Bonferroni and p = 0.012 for LSD. The ROC curve showed that thermography presents 50% sensitivity and 82% specificity using a cutoff of 0.65 °C for temperature differences.
Conclusion
The results showed that the infrared thermography analysis might be able to evaluate the inflammatory process from repetitive strain injuries, hel** its diagnosis and monitoring of such condition.
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs42600-019-00009-y/MediaObjects/42600_2019_9_Fig1_HTML.jpg)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs42600-019-00009-y/MediaObjects/42600_2019_9_Fig2_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs42600-019-00009-y/MediaObjects/42600_2019_9_Fig3_HTML.png)
Similar content being viewed by others
References
http://www.ilo.org/public/portugue/region/eurpro/lisbon/pdf/safeday2013_relatorio.pdf. 2013. Acessed 24 April 2018.
Alves ML, Gabarra MH. Comparison of power Doppler and thermography for the selection of thyroid nodules in which fine-needle aspiration biopsy is indicated. Radiol Bras. 2016;49(5):311–5.
Arena F, DiCicco T, Anand A e. Multimodality data fusion aids early detection of breast cancer using conventional technology and advanced digital infrared imaging. Ann Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2004;2:1170–3. https://doi.org/10.1109/IEMBS.2004.1403374.
Arora N, Martins D, Tousimis E, Swistel AJ, Osborne MP, Simmons RM. Effectiveness of a noninvasive digital infrared thermal imaging system in the detection of breast cancer. Am J Surg. 2008;196:523–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2008.06.015.
Baic A, Kasprzyk T, Rzany M, Stanek A, Sieron K, Suszynski K, et al. Can we use thermal imaging to evaluate the effects of carpal tunnel syndrome surgical decompression? Medicine. 2017;96(39):e7982. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000007982.
Brioschi ML, Cherem AJ, Ruiz RC, Sardá Júnior JJ, Silva FMRM. The use of infrared thermography in evaluating returns to work in an extended rehabilitation program (PRA). Acta Fisiátrica. 2009;16(2):6. https://doi.org/10.5935/0104-7795.20090004.
Cheung TW, Clemson L, O'Loughlin K, Shuttleworth R. Understanding decision-making towards housework among women with upper limb repetitive strain injury. Aust Occup Ther J. 2016;63(1):37–46.
Costa AC, Dibai Filho AV, Packer AC, Rodrigues-Bigaton D. Intra and inter-rater reliability of infrared image analysis of masticatory and upper trapezius muscles in women with and without temporomandibular disorder. Braz J Phys Ther. 2013;17(1):24–31.
Dibai-Filho AV, Guirro EC, Ferreira VT, Brandino HE, Vaz MM, Guirro RR. Reliability of different methodologies of infrared image analysis of myofascial trigger points in the upper trapezius muscle. Braz J Phys Ther. 2015;19(2):122–8. https://doi.org/10.1590/bjpt-rbf.2014.0076.
Fedorczyk JM, Barr AE, Rani S, Gao HG, Amin M, Amin S, et al. Exposure-dependent increases in IL-1beta, substance P, CTGF, and tendinosis in flexor digitorum tendons with upper extremity repetitive strain injury. J Ortho Res. 2010;28(3):298–307. https://doi.org/10.1002/jor.20984.
Gold JE, Cherniack M, Buchholz B. Infrared thermography for examination of skin temperature in the dorsal hand of office workers. Euro J Appl Physiol. 2004;93(1–2):245–51. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-004-1210-6.
Guirro JRR, Oliveira Lima Leite Vaz MM, das Neves LMS, Dibai-Filho AV, Carrara HHA, de Oliveira Guirro EC. Accuracy and reliability of infrared thermography in assessment of the breasts of women affected by cancer. J Med Syst. 2017;41(5):87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-017-0730-7.
Gurjarpadhye AA, Parekh MB, Dubnika A, Rajadas J, Inayathullah M. Infrared imaging tools for diagnostic applications in dermatology. SM J Clin Med Imaging. 2015;1(1):1–5.
Helmy A, Holdmann M, Rizkalla M, editors. Application of thermography for non-invasive diagnosis of thyroid gland disease. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2008;55(3):1168–75. https://doi.org/10.1109/TBME.2008.915731.
Hussain S, Sivakumaran P, Gill A, Dhas D, Ciurtin C. Ultrasonography-detected subclinical inflammation in patients with hand osteoarthritis and established rheumatoid arthritis: a comparison between two different pathologies using the same ultrasound examination protocol. Musculoskeletal Care. 2018;16(1):26–31. https://doi.org/10.1002/msc.1197.
Jesensek Papez B, Palfy M, Mertik M, Turk Z. Infrared thermography based on artificial intelligence as a screening method for carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosis. J Int Med Res. 2009;37(3):779–90. https://doi.org/10.1177/147323000903700321.
Ko EJ, No YA, Park KY, Li K, Seo SJ, Hong CK. The clinical significance of infrared thermography for the prediction of postherpetic neuralgia in acute herpes zoster patients. Skin Res Technol. 2016;22(1):108–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/srt.12237.
Lasanen R, Malo MKH, Airaksinen O, Karhu J, Toyras J, Julkunen P. Infrared thermography reveals effect of working posture on skin temperature in office workers. J Occup Saf Erg. 2017;1–7. Organização Mundial do Trabalho. [The prevention of occupational diseases]
Lis-Swiety A, Miziolek B, Ranosz-Janicka I, Bierzynska-Macyszyn G, Brzezinska-Wcislo L. Thermal imaging and dermoscopy for detecting inflammation in frontal fibrosing alopecia. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2018;17(2):268–73. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocd.12379.
Madhe MPS. Hypo and hyperthyroid disorder detection from thermal images using Bayesian classifier. International Conference on Advances in Communication and Computing Technologies. September, 2014, India; 2014.
New KM, Einstein GP, Tulp OL. Analysis of thermography and breast cancer prevention among minority women and other ethnic groups. FASEB J. 2017;31(1_supplement):806.1. https://doi.org/10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.806.1.
Organização Mundial da Saúde (2013) [The prevention of occupational diseases]. http://www.ilo.org/public/portugue/region/eurpro/lisbon/pdf/safeday2013_relatorio.pdf;2013. Acessed 24 April 2018.
Papaléo RM, Teixeira MJ, Brioschi ML. Infrared thermography to evaluate pain in a multiple sclerosis patient. Case report. Revista Dor. 2016;17:232–5.
Piligian GJ, Gold JE. The repetitive strain injury process: alterations in physiology vis-à-vis symptoms. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2012;42(7):660. https://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2012.0204.
Richardson S. Review of: “The ergonomics of working postures: models, methods and cases”. Edited by Nigel Corlett, John Wilson and Ilija Manenica. Ergonomics. 1987;30(6):1007–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140138708969799.
Rossato M, Burei M, Vettor R. Neck thermography in the differentiation between diffuse toxic goiter during methimazole treatment and normal thyroid. Endocrine. 2015;48(3):1016–7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-014-0305-z.
Rossi C, Sehnem E, Rempel C. Infrared thermography in evaluation of myofascial trigger points in the shoulder pathologies. Cons Saúde. 2013;12:266–73. https://doi.org/10.5585/ConsSaude.v12n2.4197.
Sheikh R, Memarzadeh K, Torbrand C, Blohmé J, Lindstedt S, Malmsjö M. Blood perfusion in a full-thickness eyelid flap, investigated by laser Doppler velocimetry, laser speckle contrast imaging, and thermography. Eplasty. 2018;18.
Szentkuti A, Skala Kavanagh H, Grazio S. Infrared thermography and image analysis for biomedical use. Period Biol. 2011;113(4):385–92.
Van Tulder M, Malmivaara A, Koes B. Repetitive strain injury. Lancet. 2007;369(9575):1815–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60820-4.
Wu LA, Kuo WH, Chen CY, Tsai YS, Wang J. The association of infrared imaging findings of the breast with prognosis in breast cancer patients: an observational cohort study. BMC Cancer. 2016;16:541. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-016-2602-9.
Zakian CM, Taylor AM, Ellwood RP, Pretty IA. Occlusal caries detection by using thermal imaging. J Dent. 2010;38:788–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdent.2010.06.010.
Acknowledgments
We are thankful to the Laboratory of Thermography from the Federal Technological University of Paraná (UTFPR).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
This research project has been approved by the “Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (PUCPR)” Ethical Committee, according to protocol number 6178.
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Magas, V., Abreu de Souza, M., Borba Neves, E. et al. Evaluation of thermal imaging for the diagnosis of repetitive strain injuries of the wrist and hand joints. Res. Biomed. Eng. 35, 57–64 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42600-019-00009-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42600-019-00009-y