Aim To assess the usefulness of monthly thermography and standard foot care to reduce diabetic foot ulcer recurrence. Methods People with diabetes (n = 110), neuropathy and history of ≥ 1 foot ulcer participated in a single‐blind multicentre clinical trial. Feet were imaged with a novel thermal imaging device (Diabetic Foot Ulcer Prevention System). Participants were randomized to intervention (active thermography + standard foot care) or control (blinded thermography + standard foot care) and were followed up monthly until ulcer recurrence or for 12 months. Foot thermograms of participants from the intervention group were assessed for hot spots (areas with temperature ≥ 2.2°C higher than the corresponding contralateral site) and acted upon as per local standards. Results After 12 months, 62% of participants were ulcer‐free in the intervention group and 56% in the control group. The odds ratios of ulcer recurrence (intervention vs control) were 0.82 (95% CI 0.38, 1.8; P = 0.62) and 0.55 (95% CI 0.21, 1.4; P = 0.22) in univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses, respectively. The hazard ratios for the time to ulcer recurrence (intervention vs control) were 0.84 (95% CI 0.45, 1.6; P = 0.58) and 0.67 (95% CI 0.34, 1.3; P = 0.24) in univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses, respectively. Conclusions Monthly intervention with thermal imaging did not result in a significant reduction in ulcer recurrence rate or increased ulcer‐free survival in this cohort at high risk of foot ulcers. This trial has, however, informed the design of a refined study with longer follow‐up and group stratification, further aiming to assess the efficacy of thermography to reduce ulcer recurrence.

Intermediate level waste containers are used for the storage of an assortment of radioactive waste. This waste is heatgenerating and needs monitoring and so this work was undertaken to determine whether the mean internal container temperature can be inferred from the temperature of the vent. By using two independent thermometry techniquesphosphor thermometry and thermal imaging -the internal temperature was demonstrated to be proportional to the vent temperature as measured by both methods. The correlation is linear and given suitable characterisation could provide robust indication of the internal bulk temperature.

Quantitative thermal imaging has the potential of reliable temperature measurement across an entire field-of-view. This non-invasive technique has applications in aerospace, manufacturing and process control. However, robust temperature measurement on the sub-millimetre (30 µm) length scale has yet to be demonstrated. Here, the temperature performance and sizeof-source (source size) effect of a 3 µm to 5 µm thermal imaging system have been assessed. In addition a technique of quantifying thermal imager non-uniformity is described. An uncertainty budget is constructed, which describes a measurement uncertainty of 640 mK (k = 2) for a target with a size of 10 mm. The results of this study provide a foundation for developing the capability for confident quantitative sub-millimetre thermal imaging.

No abstract

No abstract