Limb volume measurements are used for evaluating growth of muscle mass and effectivity of strength training. Beside sport sciences, it is used e.g. for detection of oedemas, lymphedemas or carcinomas or for examinations of muscle atrophy. There are several commonly used methods, but there is a lack of clear comparison, which shows their advantages and limits. The accuracy of each method is uncertainly estimated only. The aim of this paper is to determine and experimentally verify their accuracy and compare them among each other. Water Displacement Method (WD), three methods based on circumferential measures—Frustum Sign Model (FSM), Disc Model (DM), Partial Frustum Model (PFM) and two 3D scan based methods Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) were compared. Precise reference cylinders and limbs of two human subjects were measured 10 times by each method. Personal dependency of methods was also tested by measuring 10 times the same object by 3 different people. Accuracies: WD 0.3 %, FSM 2–8 % according person, DM, PFM 1–8 %, MRI 2 % (hand) or 8 % (finger), CT 0.5 % (hand) or 2 % (finger);times: FSM 1 min, CT 7 min, WD, DM, PFM 15 min, MRI 19 min; and more. WD was found as the best method for most of uses with best accuracy. The CT disposes with almost the same accuracy and allows measurements of specific regions (e.g. particular muscles), as same as MRI, which accuracy is worse though, but it is not harmful. Frustum Sign Model is usable for very fast estimation of limb volume, but with lower accuracy, Disc Model and Partial Frustum Model is useful in cases when Water Displacement cannot be used.

There are special medical cases, where standard medical imaging modalities are able to offer sufficient results, but not in the optimal way. It means, that desired results are produced with unnecessarily high expenses, with redundant informations or with needless demands on patient. This paper deals with one special case, where information useful for examination is the body surface only, inner sight into the body is needless. New specialized medical imaging device is developed for this situation.In the Introduction section, analysis of presently used medical imaging modalities is presented, which declares, that no available imaging device is best fitting for mentioned purposes. In the next section, development of the new specialized medical imaging device is presented, and its principles and functions are described. Then, the parameters of new device are compared with present ones. It brings significant advantages comparing to present imaging systems.

Objectives At present, medical thermal imaging is still considered a mere qualitative tool enabling us to distinguish between but lacking the ability to quantify the physiological and nonphysiological states of the body. Such a capability would, however, facilitate solving the problem of medical quantification, whose presence currently manifests itself within the entire healthcare system. Methods A generally applicable method to enhance captured 3D spatial data carrying temperature-related information is presented; in this context, all equations required for other data fusions are derived. The method can be utilized for high-density point clouds or detailed meshes at a high resolution but is conveniently usable in large objects with sparse points. Results The benefits of the approach are experimentally demonstrated on 3D thermal scans of injured subjects. We obtained diagnostic information inaccessible via traditional methods. Conclusion Using a 3D model and thermal image data fusion allows the quantification of inflammation, facilitating more precise injury and illness diagnostics or monitoring. The technique offers a wide application potential in medicine and multiple technological domains, including electrical and mechanical engineering.

Abstract-This paper deals with application of 3D scanning technology in medicine. Important properties of 3D scanners are discussed with emphasize on medical applications. Construction of medical 3D scanner according to these specifications is described and practical application of its use in medical volumetry is presented. Besides volumetry, such 3D scanner is usable for many other purposes, like monitoring of recovery process, ergonomic splint manufacturing or inflammation detection.3D scanning introduces novel volumetric method, which is compared with standard methods. The new method is more accurate compared to present ones. Principles of this method are discussed in paper and its accuracy is evaluated and experimentally verified.

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The digital medical thermal imaging is valuable qualitative tool for detection of inflamed or necrotic areas, but it lacks the ability of quantification. The new 3D scanning system RoScan composed from robotic manipulator, laser scanner, color camera and thermal imager is presented, extending medical thermal imaging with possibility of quantification, allowing specific ROI selection and bringing higher thermal resolution in resulting outputs. It helps to solve the current problem of medical quantification, which permeates through the many medical sectors. The advantages of RoScan are demonstrated on sample experiment, which shows the benefits of proposed device.