Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy with Infrared Thermography for Accurate Prediction of Cellulitis

Abstract

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Using Thermal Imaging to Track Cellulitis

“…In addition, because the systematic symptoms of cellulitis such as elevation of temperature, chills, and groin pain precede the development of erythema and edema [ 23–25 ], thermal imaging might help clinicians make the diagnosis of cellulitis faster. In addition, erythema is difficult to detect in patients with darker skin tones [ 26 ], and we have shown that thermal imaging could help in this case as well. A second use case is to track the progression or improvement of cellulitis over time.…”

The Quest for a More Accurate Diagnosis of Cellulitis

“…8 Advanced imaging techniques were built on these foundations. In 2021, Raff et al 9 from MGH published a pilot study showcasing the results of diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) with thermal imaging for predicting the diagnostic accuracy of cellulitis among a sample of 30 patients with suspected cellulitis. In contrast to thermal imaging, DRS uses a specialized apparatus consisting of a handheld optic fiber spectrometer with a probe that contacts the affected skin to ultimately provide a spectral ratio, calculated as the ratio of the deoxyhemoglobin to oxyhemoglobin absorption peak in the measured skin.…”