Contralateral Thermal Imaging for Body Temperature Asymmetry Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical imaging technologies struggle to accurately detect minor temperature changes indicative of inflammation or functional disorders, such as diabetic foot ulcers, due to insufficient sensitivity and inability to automatically distinguish body parts from backgrounds, requiring invasive or costly professional examinations.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that simultaneously records optical and thermal images of contralateral body parts, automatically detects body part outlines, and compares temperature asymmetries using a processing unit to identify inflammation or functional disorders, enabling non-invasive, non-contact detection at home or clinical settings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If infrared thermal imaging is used to detect temperature changes, then non-invasive and non-contact measurement is achieved, but the sensitivity to detect minor temperature changes (1.8°F to 3.6°F) is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by comparing temperature maps between contralateral body parts (e.g., left vs. right foot) rather than comparing a body part to a fixed reference. This asymmetric comparison approach enables detection of minor temperature changes (1.8°F to 3.6°F) by highlighting relative differences between symmetric body parts, making the measurement more sensitive to pathological changes while maintaining non-invasive and non-contact measurement capabilities.
2Extent of automation
If automatic body part outline detection is implemented, then the system can distinguish body parts from background automatically, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses optical images as an intermediary to facilitate automatic body part outline detection. The optical image serves as a mediator between the thermal image and the background, enabling the system to automatically distinguish body parts from background by comparing the optical image (which clearly shows body contours) with the thermal image. This intermediary approach automates the segmentation process without requiring complex manual intervention or overly sophisticated algorithms.
3Reliability
If contralateral body parts are compared for temperature asymmetry, then early detection of inflammation and functional disorders is enabled, but the requirement for simultaneous recording of multiple body parts increases system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the recording and processing of multiple body parts into a unified system. By simultaneously recording thermal images and optical images of contralateral body parts and processing them together through a single computational framework that generates temperature maps and compares them, the system achieves reliable early detection of inflammation and functional disorders. This merging approach consolidates what could be multiple separate systems into one integrated solution, managing complexity while maintaining detection reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables early detection of inflammation or functional disorders by accurately mapping temperature differences, providing actionable insights without contact and facilitating remote healthcare professional review.
Implementation Method 1
Infrared thermal imaging is a preferable and useful way to record temperature maps because it is a non-invasive and non-contact technology that acquires thermal images based on the emitted heat (thermal energy) from the body. Thermal radiation is electromagnetic waves from the Long Wavelength Infrared (LWIR) range
Data Source
AI summary
Method for automatic detection of inflammation or functional disorder according to temperature asymmetry estimation in contralateral body parts is presented. Simultaneously recorded thermogram and the optical image of the inspected and contralateral body parts are sent to the processing unit, where they are stored, processed, and analyzed. Method automatically detects outlines of body parts in thermograms and optical images. Grid of points of interest is distributed inside the inspected and the contralateral body part's outline. Temperature maps are calculated according to both grids points and the temperature disparity map is estimated. The set of inflammation regions is obtained by analyzing the temperature disparity map and collecting adjacent points containing temperature differences surpassing the threshold. This is non-invasive and non-contact inspection method, suitable for real world environments with natural home or health care institutions background.