Physiological, clinical and psychological applications of dynamic infrared imaging

Dynamic infrared imaging (DIRI), the most effective modality of dynamic area telethermometry (DAT), involves the acquisition of thousands of consecutive thermal images, studying modulation of temperature at specific frequencies in sub-areas of thermal images. Quantitative analysis of temperature modulation can detect physiological or pathological changes in tissue perfusion and in cellular metabolism. At the macroscopic level, monitoring spatial and temporal changes in perfusion dynamics, DIRI can diagnose and stage joint inflammation, detect cancerous lesions, breast cancer in particular, stage systemic and local neurological disorders, and assess the effects of mental stress and of neurotoxic agents on perfusion of the face. At the cellular level, DIRI has been used to study the metabolism of photoreceptors in the retina, demonstrating a new use of DIRI in assessing the viability of tissues and their response to cytotoxic agents.