Infrared Thermal Imaging as a Novel Non-Invasive Point-of-Care Tool to Assess Filarial Lymphoedema
Lymphatic filariasis causes disfiguring and disabling lymphoedema, which is commonly and frequently exacerbated by acute dermatolymphangioadenitis (ADLA). Affected people require long-term care and monitoring but health workers lack objective assessment tools. We examine the use of an infrared therm...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-05-01
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| Series: | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/10/11/2301 |
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| author | Louise A. Kelly-Hope Mohammad Jahirul Karim ASM Sultan Mahmood Abdullah Al Kawsar Abul Khair Hannah Betts Janet Douglass Armelle Forrer Mark J. Taylor |
| author_facet | Louise A. Kelly-Hope Mohammad Jahirul Karim ASM Sultan Mahmood Abdullah Al Kawsar Abul Khair Hannah Betts Janet Douglass Armelle Forrer Mark J. Taylor |
| author_sort | Louise A. Kelly-Hope |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Lymphatic filariasis causes disfiguring and disabling lymphoedema, which is commonly and frequently exacerbated by acute dermatolymphangioadenitis (ADLA). Affected people require long-term care and monitoring but health workers lack objective assessment tools. We examine the use of an infrared thermal imaging camera as a novel non-invasive point-of-care tool for filarial lower-limb lymphoedema in 153 affected adults from a highly endemic area of Bangladesh. Temperature differences by lymphoedema stage (mild, moderate, severe) and ADLA history were visualised and quantified using descriptive statistics and regression models. Temperatures were found to increase by severity and captured subclinical differences between no lymphoedema and mild lymphoedema, and differences between moderate and severe stages. Toes and ankle temperatures detected significant differences between all stages other than between mild and moderate stages. Significantly higher temperatures, best captured by heel and calf measures, were found in participants with a history of ADLA, compared to participants who never had ADLA, regardless of the lymphoedema stage. This novel tool has great potential to be used by health workers to detect subclinical cases, predict progression of disease and ADLA status, and monitor pathological tissue changes and stage severity following enhanced care packages or other interventions in people affected by lymphoedema. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:03:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7b5795f2ddc14e3f89566c2cbb0b3f3c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0383 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:03:32Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-7b5795f2ddc14e3f89566c2cbb0b3f3c2023-11-21T21:20:53ZengMDPI AGJournal of Clinical Medicine2077-03832021-05-011011230110.3390/jcm10112301Infrared Thermal Imaging as a Novel Non-Invasive Point-of-Care Tool to Assess Filarial LymphoedemaLouise A. Kelly-Hope0Mohammad Jahirul Karim1ASM Sultan Mahmood2Abdullah Al Kawsar3Abul Khair4Hannah Betts5Janet Douglass6Armelle Forrer7Mark J. Taylor8Centre for Neglected Tropical Diseases, Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), Liverpool L3 5QA, UKFilariasis Elimination, STH Control and Little Doctor Programme, CDC, DGHS, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Dhaka 1000, BangladeshFilariasis Elimination, STH Control and Little Doctor Programme, CDC, DGHS, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Dhaka 1000, BangladeshFilariasis Elimination, STH Control and Little Doctor Programme, CDC, DGHS, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Dhaka 1000, BangladeshFilariasis Elimination, STH Control and Little Doctor Programme, CDC, DGHS, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Dhaka 1000, BangladeshCentre for Neglected Tropical Diseases, Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), Liverpool L3 5QA, UKCentre for Neglected Tropical Diseases, Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), Liverpool L3 5QA, UKCentre for Neglected Tropical Diseases, Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), Liverpool L3 5QA, UKCentre for Neglected Tropical Diseases, Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), Liverpool L3 5QA, UKLymphatic filariasis causes disfiguring and disabling lymphoedema, which is commonly and frequently exacerbated by acute dermatolymphangioadenitis (ADLA). Affected people require long-term care and monitoring but health workers lack objective assessment tools. We examine the use of an infrared thermal imaging camera as a novel non-invasive point-of-care tool for filarial lower-limb lymphoedema in 153 affected adults from a highly endemic area of Bangladesh. Temperature differences by lymphoedema stage (mild, moderate, severe) and ADLA history were visualised and quantified using descriptive statistics and regression models. Temperatures were found to increase by severity and captured subclinical differences between no lymphoedema and mild lymphoedema, and differences between moderate and severe stages. Toes and ankle temperatures detected significant differences between all stages other than between mild and moderate stages. Significantly higher temperatures, best captured by heel and calf measures, were found in participants with a history of ADLA, compared to participants who never had ADLA, regardless of the lymphoedema stage. This novel tool has great potential to be used by health workers to detect subclinical cases, predict progression of disease and ADLA status, and monitor pathological tissue changes and stage severity following enhanced care packages or other interventions in people affected by lymphoedema.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/10/11/2301infrared thermal imaginglymphatic filariasislymphoedemaNTDsneglected tropical diseasesskin temperature |
| spellingShingle | Louise A. Kelly-Hope Mohammad Jahirul Karim ASM Sultan Mahmood Abdullah Al Kawsar Abul Khair Hannah Betts Janet Douglass Armelle Forrer Mark J. Taylor Infrared Thermal Imaging as a Novel Non-Invasive Point-of-Care Tool to Assess Filarial Lymphoedema Journal of Clinical Medicine infrared thermal imaging lymphatic filariasis lymphoedema NTDs neglected tropical diseases skin temperature |
| title | Infrared Thermal Imaging as a Novel Non-Invasive Point-of-Care Tool to Assess Filarial Lymphoedema |
| title_full | Infrared Thermal Imaging as a Novel Non-Invasive Point-of-Care Tool to Assess Filarial Lymphoedema |
| title_fullStr | Infrared Thermal Imaging as a Novel Non-Invasive Point-of-Care Tool to Assess Filarial Lymphoedema |
| title_full_unstemmed | Infrared Thermal Imaging as a Novel Non-Invasive Point-of-Care Tool to Assess Filarial Lymphoedema |
| title_short | Infrared Thermal Imaging as a Novel Non-Invasive Point-of-Care Tool to Assess Filarial Lymphoedema |
| title_sort | infrared thermal imaging as a novel non invasive point of care tool to assess filarial lymphoedema |
| topic | infrared thermal imaging lymphatic filariasis lymphoedema NTDs neglected tropical diseases skin temperature |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/10/11/2301 |
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