Thermal imaging for characterization of skin adaptation in prosthesis users
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: • Thermal imaging was used to characterize lower limb skin response to stress. • The time for skin temperature to reach 70 % of its maximum after stress removal (TTP) was measured. • In a residual limb, the shortest TTPs were observed at locations adapted to stress. • In an able-bodied participant, shorter TTPs were observed after skin adapted to stress than before. • TTP should be further investigated as a clinical metric for limb skin health assessment. The purpose of this research was to investigate the use of time to peak temperature (TTP) as a metric for characterizing skin adaptation in prothesis users. Two experiments were conducted. A static pressure was applied to a participant's transtibial residual limb for 10 min, then a thermal imaging camera was used to capture the time-varying temperature response. The TTP, time to reach 70 % of the maximum temperature, was shorter at locations adapted to mechanical stress, the patellar tendon and anterior lateral distal region (mean 41.5 s and 47.2 s, respectively), than at mid-limb locations (127.1 s). In the second experiment, an able-bodied participant rubbed a towel across the anterior proximal aspect of his lower limb each day for 5 min per day for 11 days. His mean TTP in the region decreased from 68.5 s at Day 1 to 47.2 s at Day 11. The results suggest that a short TTP reflects skin well adapted to mechanical stress and a long TTP reflects skin not well adapted to mechanical stress. Investigations characterizing relationships between TTP and health outcomes should be pursued.
Source: Medical Engineering & Physics
Institution: University of Washington
Language: English
Subfield: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,170
OpenAlex ID: W4405631986