(Ebook) Human Medical Thermography by James Stewart Campbell, M. Nathaniel Mead

(Ebook) Human Medical Thermography by James Stewart Campbell, M. Nathaniel Mead

The human body generates heat – a byproduct of metabolism – and must dissipate it to regulate internal body temperature. The majority of metabolic heat is dispersed into the environment by the skin surface. When viewed through a thermal imager, the human body stands out strongly against cooler backgrounds. Variations, patterns, and differences in skin temperature can be readily visualized. The result is a thermogram, a graphic rendering of the pattern of infrared emissions either in color or shades of gray showing the temperature distribution over the body’s surface. Actual surface temperatures may be measured on the image, providing a view of the body’s thermal pattern that is both quantitative (numerical) and qualitative (visual).Quantitative thermography involves the analysis of the actual temperature data of thermograms – the “science of thermography.” Qualitative thermography – the “art of thermography” – involves properly adjusting the image thermal span to maximize the information presented to the human visual system. In addition, the art of thermography includes selecting the proper equilibration time, imaging protocol, and patient positioning to display the thermal findings. Though certain procedures such as breast thermography are becoming routine, general thermography examinations may be quite varied.Human Medical Thermography was written with three primary objectives in mind: (1) to illuminate the physics, anatomy, physiology, pathology, and clinical application of thermal imaging; (2) to advance the use of thermal imaging by guiding practitioners in setting up a scientific thermography service to take, format, and interpret the images; and (3) to promote an evidence-based approach by reviewing some of the thermography’s benefits for both clinical medicine and laboratory research.