A new diagnostic IR-thermal imaging method for evaluation of cardiosurgery procedures

Abstract

Two methods for monitoring the state of the myocardium during cardiosurgical interventions based on thermal IR imaging are presented below. These methods, called static thermography and active dynamic thermography (ADT), use information about the distribution of temperature on the surface, and an external excitation source to induce thermal transient processes in a tested object. Recording the time series of thermograms allows calculating parametric images – the distribution of the thermal time constant on the visible surface of the myocardium – correlated with the physiological state of the tested tissues. The temperature allows monitoring of vascularization in each phase of cardiosurgical interventions. This is a perfect method for the evaluation of the quality of the inserted graft, as well as the efficiency of cardioplegia, and the quality of many surgical procedures in clinical practice. Such monitoring is prompt, easy and objective, especially if dynamic processes are investigated. During LAD occlusion, the ADT procedure was applied using a cooling external excitation source. In summary, the calculated time constant images provide data of the tested structure and functional information of myocardium infarct. This allows tracking changes in the blood flow in the myocardium and enables the inspection of the quality of the intervention during cardiosurgical procedures.