Image Acquisition Protocol by Infrared Medical Thermography in Diaphyseal Tibial Injuries in a Patient Diagnosed with Pseudarthrosis – A Case Study

Patients diagnosed with pseudarthrosis in tibial injuries may be monitored using medical infrared thermography (IRT) in orthostatic positioning (OP) to assess their bone consolidation. However, in this position it is difficult to keep an even distribution of the weight between both legs, which may conduct to misdiagnosis errors. The aim of this study was to investigate the acquisition of thermal images in a male patient diagnosed with pseudarthrosis in tibial diaphysis, using the Ilisarov method external fixator, acquired in the supine position (SP), anteroposterior (AP) view according with the International Consensus and Guidelines for Medical Thermography (ICGMT), by means of an adjustable thermographic camera support equipment (ATCSE), custommade. The analysis of the images acquired in the referred positions, OP and SP, showed an average temperature difference of 0.4 °C in the diaphysis of the distal tibia. As the SP position avoids the impairment of the vascular changes resulting from the uneven distribution of body weight it seems to be advantageous over OP. Additionally, the ATCSE support proved to be practical in clinical and hospital environment, in the investigation of bone orthopedic diseases of the lower limbs.