Performance Assessment of Low-Cost Thermal Cameras for Medical Applications.

Enrique Villa,Juan Ruiz-Alzola,Natalia Arteaga-Marrero

doi:10.3390/s20051321

Abstract

Thermal imaging is a promising technology in the medical field. Recent developments in low-cost infrared (IR) sensors, compatible with smartphones, provide competitive advantages for home-monitoring applications. However, these sensors present reduced capabilities compared to more expensive high-end devices. In this work, the characterization of thermal cameras is described and carried out. This characterization includes non-uniformity (NU) effects and correction as well as the thermal cameras’ dependence on room temperature, noise-equivalent temperature difference (NETD), and response curve stability with temperature. Results show that low-cost thermal cameras offer good performance, especially when used in temperature-controlled environments, providing evidence of the suitability of such sensors for medical applications, particularly in the assessment of diabetic foot ulcers on which we focused this study.

Highlights

Thermal infrared sensing technology has experienced much development over the last decades due to a new generation of uncooled infrared (IR) thermal sensors based on microbolometers [1]
Applications based on thermography have been proposed for the monitoring and assessment of a diverse range of pathologies including dermatological complications, tumors, diabetic neuropathy, arthritis, vascular disorders, and other circulatory disturbances such as Raynaud’s phenomenon [7,8,9,10,11,12,13]
This paper aims to characterize thermal sensors and analyze their feasibility for medical applications, the assessment of diabetic foot anomalies

Summary

Introduction

Thermal infrared sensing technology has experienced much development over the last decades due to a new generation of uncooled infrared (IR) thermal sensors based on microbolometers [1]. These detectors use microelectromechanical system (MEMS) techniques for manufacturing large 2D arrays, reducing the cost while offering a high sensitivity and good image quality [2]. Applications based on thermography have been proposed for the monitoring and assessment of a diverse range of pathologies including dermatological complications, tumors, diabetic neuropathy, arthritis, vascular disorders, and other circulatory disturbances such as Raynaud’s phenomenon [7,8,9,10,11,12,13]. The subject gets a report if a warning sign is found, and a publicly available

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