Infrared Thermal Imaging of Patients With Acute Upper Respiratory Tract Infection: Mixed Methods Analysis.

Zuopeng Zhang,Fangge Deng,Sige Ma,Zanfeng Cao,Rong Liu,Qianting Guan,Zhanzheng Yang,Zhuosen He

doi:10.2196/22524

Abstract

BackgroundUpper respiratory tract infection is a common disease of the respiratory system. Its incidence is very high, and it can even cause pandemics. Infrared thermal imaging (IRTI) can provide an objective and quantifiable reference for the visual diagnosis of people with acute respiratory tract infection, and it can function as an effective indicator of clinical diagnosis.ObjectiveThe aims of this study are to observe and analyze the infrared expression location and characteristics of patients with acute upper respiratory tract infection through IRTI technology and to clearly express the quantification of temperature, analyze the role of IRTI in acute upper respiratory tract diagnostic research, and understand the impact of IRTI in qualitative and quantitative research.MethodsFrom December 2018 to February 2019, 154 patients with acute upper respiratory tract infection were randomly selected from the emergency department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University. Among these patients, 73 were men and 81 were women. The subjects were divided into two groups according to the presence of fever, namely, fever and nonfever groups. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the infrared thermal images were performed to compare the results before and after application of the technology.ResultsUsing the method described in this paper, through the analysis of experimental data, we elucidated the role of IRTI in the diagnosis of acute upper respiratory tract infection, and we found that qualitative and quantitative IRTI analyses play important roles. Through the combination of theory and experimental data, the IRTI analysis showed good results in identifying acute upper respiratory tract infection.ConclusionsIRTI technology plays an important role in identifying the infrared expression location and characteristics of patients with acute upper respiratory tract infection as well as in the quantification of clear expression of body temperature, and it provides an objective and quantifiable reference basis for elucidating the pathogenesis of these patients.

Highlights

IntroductionAcute upper respiratory infection is common in winter and spring
BackgroundAcute upper respiratory infection is common in winter and spring
By collecting the far-infrared radiation heat from the human body, determining an intuitive temperature, processing a color map through a computer, and using different colors to represent different human body surface temperature distributions, the temperature distribution changes of the human body can be accurately measured according to the difference between normal and abnormal infrared radiation [8]

Summary

Introduction

Acute upper respiratory infection is common in winter and spring It can be spread through food droplets containing influenza virus or the use of virus-contaminated robotic arms and other tools [1,2]. Infrared thermal imaging (IRTI) can provide an objective and quantifiable reference for the visual diagnosis of people with acute respiratory tract infection, and it can function as an effective indicator of clinical diagnosis. Conclusions: IRTI technology plays an important role in identifying the infrared expression location and characteristics of patients with acute upper respiratory tract infection as well as in the quantification of clear expression of body temperature, and it provides an objective and quantifiable reference basis for elucidating the pathogenesis of these patients

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