Infrared Thermal Imaging for Evaluation of Clubfoot After the Ponseti Casting Method—An Exploratory Study

Frontiers in Pediatrics

article

Balasankar Ganesan¹  Joanne Yip¹  Ameersing Luximon³  Paul J. Gibbons⁴  Alison Chivers⁵  Suchita Kothe Balasankar⁶  Raymond Kai-Yu Tong⁷  Rifai Chai⁸  Adel Al-Jumaily² 

[1] Institute of Textiles and Clothing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University;School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Technology Sydney;EMEDS Limited;Orthopaedic Department, The Children's Hospital at Westmead (Sydney Children's Hospitals Network);Physiotherapy Department, Children's Hospital at Westmead;Department of Ayurveda, Maharashtra University of Health Sciences;Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong;Department of Telecommunications, Robotics and Biomedical Engineering, Swinburne University of Technology

关键词: clubfoot;    Ponseti method;    infrared thermography;    evaluation;    thermal imaging;    thermography;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fped.2021.595506

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Background: Conservative treatment, Ponseti method, has been considered as a standard method to correct the clubfoot deformity among Orthopedic society. Although the result of conservative methods have been reported with higher success rates than surgical methods, many more problems have been reported due to improper casting, casting pressure or bracing discomfort. Nowadays, infrared thermography (IRT) is widely used as a diagnostic tool to assess musculoskeletal disorders or injuries by detecting temperature abnormalities. Similarly, the foot skin temperature evaluation can be added along with the current subjective evaluation to predict if there is any casting pressure, excessive manipulation, or overcorrections of the foot, and other bracing pressure-related complications. Purpose: The main purpose of this study was to explore the foot skin temperature changes before and after using of manipulation and weekly castings. Methods: This is an explorative study design. Infrared Thermography (IRT), E33 FLIR thermal imaging camera model, was used to collect the thermal images of the clubfoot before and after casting intervention. A total of 120 thermal images (Medial region of the foot–24, Lateral side of the foot–24, Dorsal side of the foot−24, Plantar side of the foot−24, and Heel area of the foot–24) were collected from the selected regions of the clubfoot. Results: The results of univariate statistical analysis showed that significant temperature changes in some regions of the foot after casting, especially, at the 2nd (M = 32.05°C, SD = 0.77, p = 0.05), 3rd (M = 31.61, SD = 1.11; 95% CI: 31.27–31.96; p = 0.00), and 6th week of evaluation on the lateral side of the foot (M = 31.15°C, SD = 1.59; 95% CI: 30.75–31.54, p = 0.000). There was no significant temperature changes throughout the weekly casting in the medial side of the foot. In the heel side of the foot, significant temperature changes were noticed after the third and fourth weeks of casting. Conclusion: This study found that a decreased foot skin temperature on the dorsal and lateral side of the foot at the 6th week of thermography evaluation. The finding of this study suggest that the infrared thermography (IRT) might be useful as an adjunct assessment tool to evaluate the thermophysiological changes, which can be used to predict the complications caused by improper casting, over manipulative or stretching and casting-pressure related complications.

【 授权许可】

CC BY