The Value Of Infrared Thermograph In Diagnosing Painful Heel

【Objective】According to the working principles of medical infrared imaging system,exam heels'thermographs,find out theirs changing regularities,investigate the diagnostic value of infrared thermograph of painful heel.【Study method】⑴Instrument:HR-2 medical infrared thermography detector made in North China Research Institute of Electro-optics(NCRIEO).⑵Experimental subjects and group-divided: control group,30 volunteers from Quanzhou and painful heel group,30 single-heel pain patients from the Department of Orthopedic, Quanzhou First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University.⑶Experimental procedure:under the standard detecting conditions,take photos of backside,tibio side,fibular side and plantar side of the heel of each testee.⑷Data measure:adopt rectangular mean temperature measuring method.⑸Data analyse:base on databases,set up a normal heels temperature model,compare temperature of heels of healthy testees to that of painful heel patients,find out temperature changing regularities of heels.【Study result】⑴The rectangular mean temperature in different sides of the normal heels shows special rules:the mean temperature within rectangle is higher in tibio side and fibular side , plantar side is lower,backside is lowest .⑵The difference of temperature between two heels in normal people shows as follows: backside 0.78±0.15℃,tibio side 1.12±0.23℃,fibular side 0.92±0.18℃,plantar side 0.76±0.11℃. ⑶Absolute values of different temperature of two heels between healthy and painful heel testees have significant difference(P<0.05),which indicate that temperature in heels is changed when heel pain is occurred.⑷The infrared thermography image around the normal heels shows as follows:①the thermograph of backside is peak distributed,the areas are closer to the two sides of back of the heel,the temperature is higher②the thermograph of tibio side is irregular,medial malleolus nearby is the hottest area,the farther areas from the hot area,the temperature is lower③extramalleolus nearby is the hottest area in fibular side④one hot area is showed in the plantar side of the heel.⑸The distribution and pattern of the thermograph is changed when heel pain is occurred ,abnormal hot area or cold area appears as well.【Conclusion】Changes of temperature and shape of themograph can be used as the basis of diagnosis,treatment and detection of course of diseases.