Abstract

Purpose: Last year at this conference, the conceptual development of a program was described which would provide an objective analysis of the similarity between thermographs. In the interim, that software has been completed and undergone testing in projects at Life University and Sherman College. This presentation will demonstrate the features of the software.

Methods: The software accepts temperature data exported from the TyTron Thermographic instrument and allows for manipulation and visualization of two overlapping plots. The TyTron is a dual probe infrared thermographic instrument that provides temperature information for the skin on the left and right sides of the spine. The user can compare scans from the left side, the right side, and the delta or side-to-side difference.

In the pattern analysis software, the user can shift and crop the thermographs to produce the best subjective overlap before calculating congruence factors. After the scans are prepared for analysis, five congruence factors are calculated using a variety of algorithms. All of the calculations are scaled to produce factors from 0 to 1, where 1 is perfect congruence. The calculated factors are: Area ratio, Slope Comparison, Correlation Coefficient, and Slope and Amplitude comparisons using methods similar to those of Stewart & Boone.

Conclusion: Pattern analysis software is being used in studies at Life University and Sherman College. At this year’s conference, the software will be demonstrated to show its usefulness in research and clinical practice.