Medical thermography: capabilities and perspectives

Abstract

Medical thermography is a modern diagnostic method that is currently gaining popularity due to high informative value and non-invasiveness. The aim of the study was to review the capabilities and prospects of medical thermography in modern medicine. The analysis of domestic and foreign literature on the application of medical thermography methods for the period of 2012-2017 was performed. The article presents the capabilities of imaging in various fields of medicine, evaluates the prospects of further development of the method, advances and disadvantages of thermography were identified. It also provides the review of the application of medical infrared thermography in clinical medicine. The experience of thermography application in various medical fields was investigated: angiology, otolaryngology, surgery, neurology, obstetrics and gyenecology, etc. Apart from medical aspects of this topic, the article discusses the history of medical thermography as well as provides the physical principles of this method. At present, thermal imaging can solve a wide range of problems: determining the presence of changes in the human body, and, as a result, the probability of pathology development, monitoring the effectiveness of treatment and rehabilitation. Every year more and more studies are carried out, confirming the high efficiency, reliability and safety of thermography, thermographic screenings are suggested, that can be assumed as prediction of future method's popularity.