The importance of using infrared thermography (IRT) to assess skin temperature (t) is increasing in clinical settings. Recently, its use has been increasing in sports and exercise medicine; however, no consensus guideline exists to address the methods for collecting data in such situations. The aim of this study was to develop a checklist for the collection of t using IRT in sports and exercise medicine. We carried out a Delphi study to set a checklist based on consensus agreement from leading experts in the field. Panelists (n = 24) representing the areas of sport science (n = 8; 33%), physiology (n = 7; 29%), physiotherapy (n = 3; 13%) and medicine (n = 6; 25%), from 13 different countries completed the Delphi process. An initial list of 16 points was proposed which was rated and commented on by panelists in three rounds of anonymous surveys following a standard Delphi procedure. The panel reached consensus on 15 items which encompassed the participants' demographic information, camera/room or environment setup and recording/analysis of t using IRT. The results of the Delphi produced the checklist entitled "Thermographic Imaging in Sports and Exercise Medicine (TISEM)" which is a proposal to standardize the collection and analysis of t data using IRT. It is intended that the TISEM can also be applied to evaluate bias in thermographic studies and to guide practitioners in the use of this technique.

This review gives an overview of focal plane array (FPA)-based infrared (IR) thermography as a powerful research method in the field of physiology and medicine. Comparison of the gained results with the data previously obtained by other authors with other research tools is given. Outer thermoregulatory manifestations displayed by the human organism subjected to whole-body heating (sauna bath) and physical loads (exercise bicycling) are quantitatively analysed. Some details of human body emotional sweating (psycho-physiological effect) are reported. Particular attention is paid to studying active sweat glands as individual objects. All experimental data were obtained with the help of a high-sensitivity (0.03 degrees C) fast 128 x 128 InAs IR detector-based thermal imaging system operating in the short-wave spectral region (2.5 to 3 microm) and perfectly suiting medical purposes. It is shown that IR thermography makes it possible to overcome limitations inherent to contact measuring means that were traditionally used before in thermal studies. It is also shown that heterogeneous thermograms displayed by organisms with disturbed inner equilibrium can be quantitatively analysed in terms of statistical parameters of related surface-temperature histograms, such as the mean temperature and the standard deviation of temperature (SDT). The increase and the decrease in SDT turned out to be typical of prolonged physical load and subsequent relaxation, and of external whole-body heating, respectively. Explanation of this result based on a hypothesis advanced within the context of the doctrine of human-organism evolution is given. Skin-temperature distribution function accompanying the relaxed organism in normality was found to closely resemble normal-distribution function. Symmetry break down and variation of the shape of this characteristic may serve as an indicator of homeostasis shift and can be used as a quantitative criterion for the latter. A new phenomenon, stable punctate hidrosis, is discovered and described. The term sweatology is introduced to refer to the discussed specific research area in biomedical science.

Abstract:An implementation of infrared thermography (IRT) developed for operation in the narrow spectral range (NSR) close to wavelength λ of 3 μm is presented in detail. Its applicability to remote sensing, multichannel spectrography, optical defectoscopy, medicine, etc. is substantiated. IRT technique for the investigation of low-energy EM sources is described. Basic physical principles, which define room IRT in cosmetology, are specified. A set of advantages of 3-μm-NSR IRT is formulated. System performance of suitable thermographs based on the InAs CID FPA is considered; the linkage between radiation temperature, NETD and frame rate is ascertained. IR camera calibration routine is described.

A search for robust noninvasive methods permitting to discern the respiration subtle peculiarities in mammals is a topical issue. A novel approach called "sorption-enhanced infrared thermography" (SEIRT), helping to solve this problem, is described. Its benefits spring from the integration of the infrared thermography (IRT) and chemical physics (phase transition heat release/absorption) within a single method. The SEIRT opportunities were verified in the investigation of 42 humans, 49 rats and 4 minipigs whose breathing waveforms were revealed to the last detail. It is shown that the SEIRT-obtained breathing-conditioned temperature response may exceed 10 °C (!) even in small animals (rats) and that the SEIRT sensitivity is 4.5-250 times higher than that of the matched IRT-based techniques. The new method is validated by a comparison with that based on thorax breathing movement (TBM). It is shown that the SEIRT-determined breaths have a close correlation with those determined via TBM (r = + 1.000, p ≪ 0.05); this is also true for breathing intervals (r = + 0.9772, p ≪ 0.05). SEIRT opens up the way to a high-resolution noncontact quantitative evaluation of respiration rate and breathing waveforms in both humans and animals. It may become a cutting-edge technique in diagnostic medicine and biomedical research.