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Thermography for the differential diagnosis of vascular malformations
Author(s) -
LeñeroBardallo J. A.,
Serrano C.,
Acha B.,
PérezCarrasco J. A.,
BernabeuWittel J.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
clinical and experimental dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1365-2230
pISSN - 0307-6938
DOI - 10.1111/ced.14346
Subject(s) - thermography , medicine , radiology , differential diagnosis , ultrasonography , lesion , color doppler , hemodynamics , surgery , pathology , physics , infrared , optics
Summary Vascular malformations classification may pose a diagnostic challenge for physicians. In the early stages, they are diagnosed clinically mainly by visual inspection. For a deeper analysis, Doppler ultrasonography is the preferred technique to determine the haemodynamic behaviour of the anomaly. However, this imaging method is not always available and it requires trained operators to acquire and interpret the images. There is a lack of portable and user‐friendly systems that may help physicians in the assessment of vascular malformations. We propose a new diagnostic procedure, more affordable and easier to use, based on a portable thermal camera. This technique provides information about temperature, which has been found to be correlated with the flow rate of the lesion. In our study, > 60 vascular malformations of previously diagnosed patients were analysed with a thermal camera to classify them into low‐flow and high‐flow malformations. The value was 1 for both sensitivity and specificity of this technique.