Use of Thermography Techniques in Equines: Principles and Applications (original) (raw)
Related papers
Use of Thermography in Clinical and Sports Evaluations of Equine Animals: A review
Research, Society and Development
Thermography in equine medicine is applied in the prevention, diagnosis and prognosis of diseases, as it can detect changes in peripheral blood flow. It can also act in the treatment by monitoring the instituted therapy. Skin infrared imaging thermometry is a method that detects, records, and produces images reflecting the microcirculatory dynamics of the skin surface in real time. The technique emerged from the studies of Hippocrates and has since gone through several advances, reaching significant milestones in the period of World War II, when it was effectively used in the tank's night vision system. In the 1970s, there was a big leap when it was possible to generate an image in five minutes. Several scientific studies point out its functionality both in human medicine and veterinary medicine with precision and practicality. It has been applied in equine sports medicine to clinical practice to assess musculoskeletal injuries as an indicator of physiological stress, assess res...
Thermal camera performance and image analysis repeatability in equine thermography
Infrared Physics & Technology, 2020
Infrared thermography is a non-invasive and non-ionizing imaging technique for recording body surface temperature. Considerable research efforts have been made to ensure that thermography in human medicine is performed to consistent standards so that measurements are traceable, reliable and valid, but interest in understanding sources of measurement uncertainty has developed less rapidly in veterinary thermography. The objective of our study was to understand the influence of variability in thermal imager performance, and the contribution to measurement variance of operator-dependent factors, in a practical equine thermography setting. The study employed five different models of thermal imager, which were all quality assured against a blackbody source prior to equine measurements. Three standard thermographic views were then obtained from nine clinically healthy horses using all five thermal imagers, with each imager capturing all views twice. On every thermographic image, regions of interest (ROIs) were then determined by two analyzers. The thermograms from each imager were assessed for their clinical utility. Agreement between analyzers of the same images, and between pairs of repeated images for the same analyzer, was assessed by Bland Altman plots. The contribution to the total variance in temperature measurements from analyzers and from camera-dependent factors was evaluated by ANOVA gauge R&R (reliability and reproducibility) analysis. Two of the thermal imagers produced readings during quality assurance which were outside of their stated specifications for accuracy. There were notable differences in the ability of the imagers to produce clinically useful thermograms, and it was difficult to compare the thermograms from different manufacturers due to the varied color palettes employed. Assessing agreement between analyzers, the bias was −0.05°C and limits of agreement were 0.11°C (upper) and −0.21°C (lower). Agreement between repeated images was less good than between analyzers: the bias was 0.17°C and limits of agreement were 1.55°C (upper) and −1.21°C (lower) for the first analyzer. Across all horses, the contribution by the analyzers to variance in temperature measurement at the ROIs from the lateral whole-body view was 9.8 ± 4.2% (Mean ± SD), for the lateral and medial aspects of the limbs was 26.5 ± 18.2%, and for the dorsal aspect of the limbs was 11.2 ± 9.2%. Across all ROIs and horses, the mean contribution to variance in the measurements from camera factors was 82.7 ± 15.3%. The work shows the importance of specifying an appropriate thermal imager for equine studies, and ensuring there is a programme of quality assurance in place for all devices used.
Factors Affecting the Measurement of Skin Temperature of Horses Using Digital Infrared Thermography
Acta Scientific Veterinary Sciences, 2020
Digital infrared thermography has the potential for use as a diagnostic tool to assess the health and welfare of horses in many different ways such as lameness, joint inflammation and pain evaluation. However, many factors affect the surface temperature of horses that are poorly quantified when we use this technology. Unless we quantify these variations and account for these variations while assessments are performed, the reliability of this technology will remain low. In this study, surface temperatures of four different Regions of Interest (head, trunk, front limb and gluteus) of 8 horses were studied in indoor (range 20ºC to 24ºC) and outdoor conditions (range 19ºC to 22ºC). Both the left and right sides of the trunk and gluteal region surface temperatures of horses were measured to determine thermal symmetry. The surface temperature of horses varied significantly depending on the Region of Interest when animals were in outdoor conditions, whereas it remained similar under indoor conditions. Stability of skin temperatures was observed between the left and right side of regions (thermal symmetry) even under outdoor conditions. Moreover, digital infrared thermography performed in a controlled environment provides more reliable estimates of surface temperature. If animals are exposed to the outdoor environment before thermography, adequate equilibration time should be provided for the surface temperature to revert to normal surface temperatures.
Ciência Rural, 2015
The infrared thermography is a diagnostic imaging tool, which measures the surface temperature of an object through its heat emission. It is a non-invasive method, painless, with no involvement of radiation. Horses have elevated incidence of back injuries which causes decrease in their performance. A rapid and accurate diagnostic is essential to start the treatment. The aim of this paper was to establish the ideal time to the animal stay e inside a controlled room to balance their temperature and in the second time verify the thermographic temperature of specific back regions. It was studied fifteen healthy horses, being performed thermography of thoracic, lumbar and pelvic regions in four different times. There was a significant difference between the thermography performed outside and inside of the controlled temperature room. It was concluded that the ideal time to the horse stay into the controlled temperature room was thirty minutes and the mean thermographic temperatures of ba...
Characterization of Thermographic Normality of Horse Extremities
VipIMAGE 2017, 2017
Proper use of thermography in equine in veterinary medicine to detect abnormality requires determination of temperature distribution. The aim of the study was to define basal temperature distributions in the region of hoof and sole in healthy horses. The study included 12 clinically healthy horses. The images were analysed numerically through statistical analysis defining temperature differences objectibly. The sensitivity of the analysis allowed to detect unexpected subclinical injures of the hoof, becoming a valuable diagnostic tool in early detection of inflammation. The study concluded that results are clinically relevant and that thermography is reliable diagnostic tool for early detection of abnormalities and subclinical injuries.
Thermography in the assessment of equine lameness
Turkish Journal of Veterinary and Animal Sciences
Infrared thermography pictorially represents the surface temperature of an object. It is a noninvasive method for detecting superficial inflammation and thus can be used in lameness diagnosis. Thermography is prone to artifacts, and, consequently, this has led some people to doubt its clinical applicability. With experience and care in interpretation, thermography can be a useful method for lameness evaluation. The aim of this study was to present further clinical information about infrared thermal cameras and to compare the diagnostic yields of thermography, radiography, and ultrasonography. Forming the animal material of this study were 47 horses with lameness. The extremities of the horses were evaluated via thermal camera following clinical examination. After this procedure, radiographic and ultrasonographic images were taken for the suspected region in all cases. The level of diagnosis with these techniques was scored and a comparison of the diagnostic methods was evaluated sta...
Thermographic Evaluation of Racehorse Performance
Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 2014
Thermography has found a broad range of applications in equine sport and veterinary medicine. Thermographic diagnosis is useful in monitoring changes of horse surface temperature resulting from exercise allowing evaluation of the work of individual parts of the body in racing performance. Regular assessment of body surface temperature allows the detection of training overloads and identification of pathological conditions of the musculoskeletal system during the racing training cycle. The usefulness of thermography in veterinary medicine has been proved in detecting pathological conditions associated mainly with inflammation processes of the distal parts of the limbs and back. The main advantage of thermography is the detection of subclinical signs of inflammation before the onset of clinical signs of pathology, providing great value in veterinary medicine diagnosis. Thermography has also found application in detecting illegal performance procedures to improve horse performance and in assessing the saddle fit to the horse's back.
Thermographic Image of the Hoof Print in Leisure and Cross-Country Warmblood Horses: A Pilot Study
Veterinary Sciences
Background: The field of veterinary medicine lacks information on equine thermal hoof printing, and few data on the same subject are available in dogs. In human medicine, thermography is used to detect heat emitted by the foot when it comes in contact with a flat surface to detect the abnormalities of the foot balance. The hypothesis states that the thermal pattern of the hoof print in Warmblood horses is detectable and it does not vary among the four limbs in leisure and cross-country Warmblood horses in terms of mean temperature of the hoof print surface. A pilot study was conducted to investigate the accuracy of thermography in temperature detection of the hoof print and to investigate the occurrence of possible differences in the mean value of six selected areas and whether there are any differences in the mean temperature of the hoof print between leisure and cross-country Warmblood horses. Methods: The study included sixty non-lame Warmblood horses with all limbs taken into co...