Methodology to evaluate temperature changes in multiple sclerosis patients by calculating texture features from infrared thermography images

ABSTRACT

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive and degenerative disease that causes nerve conduction blocks due to demyelination in the central nervous system. Most MS patients experience a worsening of clinical signs and neurological symptoms when they are exposed to heat due to a thermoregulatory dysfunction. This paper proposes a novel methodology to understand temperature changes in MS patients by obtaining and evaluating texture features from infrared thermography (IRT) images. For that purpose, images of the legs of a MS patient and a healthy control subject with similar physical characteristics (while at rest and in a standing position) were recorded using a FLIR A655SC infrared camera. In the quantitative analysis of the resulting IRT images, three texture features (average, entropy, and uniformity) were computed, and the results were compared using statistical techniques. The statistical analysis showed that temperatures in the MS patient were not normally distributed, while those in the healthy control subject were normally distributed. In addition, significant differences in average, entropy, and uniformity were found between subjects. This methodology enables a quantitative evaluation of thermal distributions over different regions of the body and can be used in further studies into temperature changes in MS patients.

KEYWORDS:

• Texture feature
• infrared thermography (IRT)
• multiple sclerosis (MS)
• thermoregulatory dysfunction

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Instituto Tecnológico Metropolitano, especially the Biomechanics Laboratory, for providing the space to obtain the necessary measurements for this study.

Disclosure statement

No conflicts of interest were reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The authors thank Instituto Tecnológico Metropolitano, especially the Biomechanics Laboratory, for providing the space to obtain the necessary measurements for this study.

Notes on contributors

Sandra Pérez-Buitrago

Sandra Pérez-Buitrago is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), she received her PhD degree in Medical Sciences from the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Medellín-Colombia and with collaborations from the University of Purdue, USA, and the Autonomous University of Nuevo León, Mexico. Her research areas are Clinical Engineering topics, image processing and its applications in diagnosis and treatment, and bio-technology topics. She has participated in researcher projects funded by Colombian and European entities.

Sara Tobón-Pareja

Sara Tobón-Pareja is a student of Biomedical Engineering at the Instituto Tecnológico Metropolitano, Medellín Colombia, she has participed in researcher about of images thermography in the Biomedical Research and Innovation Group, Faculty of Exact and Applied Sciences of Instituto Tecnológico Metropolitano.

Yeraldín Gómez-Gaviria

Yeraldín Gómez-Gaviria is a Biomedical Engineer from Instituto Tecnológico Metropolitano, Medellín Colombia, she has participed in researcher about of images thermography in the Biomedical Research and Innovation Group, Faculty of Exact and Applied Sciences of Instituto Tecnológico Metropolitano.

Adriana Guerrero-Peña

Adriana Guerrero-Peña is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Instituto Tecnológico Metropolitano, Medellín Colombia, she received her Administration master degree from the Universidad de Medellín. Her research area is statistics and applications in Biomedical Engineering.

Gloria Díaz-Londoño

Gloria Díaz-Londoño is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Instituto Tecnológico Metropolitano, Medellín Colombia, she received her PhD of Bioingeniering and Medical Physics from Universidad de Granada-España. Her research areas are in medical images, radiation protection, dosimetry in nuclear medicine, quality control of medical images and infrared thermography and its applications in diagnosis and treatment in diseases.