Enhancing Diagnostic Accuracy with a Novel Computer Application for Quantitative Analysis of Bio-Medical Infrared Thermal Images
Abstract
Temperature is a parameter that acts as a valuable indicator for understanding persisting disorders and illnesses in the human body. Body surface temperature is measured through the skin and the body’s internal temperature is measured through the mouth or rectum, which are used as vital information reflecting the state of thermo-regulation, a sub-process of the body's homeostasis, which is required for its normal functioning. In a state of functional imbalance, the affected region emits thermal radiation that is above or below the normal range. Thermal imaging of body regions is a beneficial means of detection of such thermal imbalances and the temperature data of each image can be analyzed quantitatively to be able to correlate the results clinically. In this article, a computer-based GUI – MedTherm Image Viewer and Analysis Tool developed in MATLAB is proposed for the processing and quantitative evaluation of thermal images for the purpose of providing supportive aid to the existing medical diagnostic procedures. The suggested graphical user interface (GUI) is beneficial in computing statistical features based on histograms of thermal images that have been recognized in numerous other studies as valuable parameters that assist in clinical diagnostic procedures.
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