Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

The aim of this study was to test the usefulness of thermal imaging in a clinical
setting as a part of wound healing evaluation after surgical procedures. Forty-one
client owned dogs and cats (thirty nine dogs and two cats) were included in the study
which was a part of another study investigating the effects of local anaesthetics on
wound healing. Thermal imaging and clinical assessment of the wound area was
performed approximately fourteen days after surgical intervention. Clinical
assessment was focused on evaluating wounds for signs of inflammation and
thermal interpretation investigated if there was a significant difference in temperature
between wound area and control area. The skin temperature in the wound area had
a significantly lower temperature than control areas. Comparison of results from
thermal image interpretation for correlation with clinical assessment of wound area
had no statistical significance. The controversial finding of a malignant tumour being
depicted as colder than surrounding tissue instead of warmer, which is described in
the literature, illustrates the need for further research to improve thermal imaging
diagnostic outcome in the oncology field. A potentially useful area for thermal
imaging in every day clinical practice may lie in monitoring the healing of bone
fractures but further studies are needed. The conclusion from this study was that
subjective clinical evaluations of surgical wounds two weeks post surgery provides
enough information for clinical decision making and thermal imaging is superfluous in
this context. The method should be evaluated within the timeframe of the
inflammatory phase to further explore its potentials in wound healing evaluation.