U. Snekhalatha - Artificial Intelligence-based Infrared Thermal Image Processing and its Applications

Infrared thermography is a fast and non-invasive technology that provides a map of the temperature distribution on the bodys surface. This book provides a description of designing and developing a computer-assisted diagnosis (CAD) system based on thermography for diagnosing such common ailments as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), diabetes complications, and fever. It also introduces applications of machine-learning and deep-learning methods in the development of CAD systems.

Key Features:

• Covers applications of various image processing techniques in thermal imaging applications for the diagnosis of different medical conditions
• Describes the development of a computer diagnostics system (CAD) based on thermographic data
• Discusses deep-learning models for accurate diagnosis of various diseases
• Includes new aspects in rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes research using advanced analytical tools
• Reviews application of feature fusion algorithms and feature reduction algorithms for accurate classification of images

This book is aimed at researchers and graduate students in biomedical engineering, medicine, image processing, and CAD.

U. Snekhalatha

K. Palani Thanaraj

Kurt Ammer

First edition published 2023

by CRC Press

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and by CRC Press

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CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

2023 U. Snekhalatha, K. Palani Thanaraj and Kurt Ammer

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ISBN: 978-1-032-15814-3 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-032-15817-4 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-003-24578-0 (ebk)

DOI: 10.1201/9781003245780

Typeset in Times

by SPi Technologies India Pvt Ltd (Straive)

Body temperature is a vital parameter used in the medical field for indicating abnormal activity of human tissues. Infrared (IR) thermal imaging produces information on skin temperature distribution in various body regions. The thermal property of human skin varies between the different layers or within the layers of the skin due to the presence of the blood vessels. Depending on the individuals condition and the surrounding environment, the human body will dissipate the excess heat energy. Over the decades, many research works have been carried out to analyze this temperature profile on various skin regions to identify the physiological process behind it. This procedure forms the basis of thermal imaging, whereby advanced thermal imaging sensors are used to capture the heat profile of the human body regions so as to identify the ailments in the human body. With the advancement in thermal imaging systems, high-resolution thermograms could be produced with a temperature sensitivity of less than 50 mK and with a spatial accuracy of around 10 m. Widespread research is going into developing computer-aided disease diagnosis systems based on IR thermograms as an assisting tool for physicians in clinical screening and evaluation process. The main aim of this book is to provide a detailed description of designing and developing a computer-assisted diagnosis (CAD) system based on thermography for diagnosing some of the common ailments such as rheumatoid aArthritis (RA), diabetes complications, and fever. This book also introduces the readers to applications of machine-learning and deep-learning methods in the development of the CAD system.

This book is organized as follows:

• deals with the fundamentals of infrared thermal imaging, which includes thermal imaging properties, image acquisition, and various applications.
• focuses on the standardized protocol to be followed in the selection of test subjects and data acquisition based on infrared thermographs.
• provides information on image analysis with a focus on image analysis tools and various image processing steps involved in thermal imaging.
• evaluates arthritis disease progression in the CFA-induced Wistar rat model and monitors inflammatory arthritis activity using thermal imaging compared with histopathological study.
• showcases the applications of thermal imaging in the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis in humans.
• explains the recent developments in applications of thermal imaging in screening complications in diabetic subjects and discusses their rationales.
• explains the development of an advanced thermal imaging system that uses deep learning approaches to detect elevated body temperatures for proper fever screening.
• describes the ethical considerations and data protection in thermal imaging research.

First and foremost, I express our heartfelt and deep sense of gratitude to Chancellor Shri. T.R. Pachamuthu, Vice-Chancellor Dr. C. Muthamizhchelvan, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Admin) Dr. Ravi Pachamoothoo, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academics) Dr. P. Sathyanarayanan of SRM Institute of Science and Technology for providing us the necessary facilities for the completion of our book. I also acknowledge Registrar Dr. S. Ponnusamy of SRM Institute of Science and Technology for his constant support and endorsement.

I wish to express our sincere gratitude to our Dean (Engineering & Technology, Kattankulathur) Dr. T.V. Gopal, and Chairperson (School of Bioengineering) Dr. M. Vairamani of SRM Institute of Science and Technology for their constant support and encouragement.

I am extremely grateful to the Head of the Department, Dr. Varshini Karthik, Biomedical Engineering Department, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, for her invaluable guidance, motivation, and timely and insightful technical discussions. We are immensely grateful for her constant encouragement, smooth approach throughout our journey and to make this work possible. Also, I would like to thank researcher scholars Ms. Richa Rashmi, Ms. Ahalya, Ms. Nithya Kalyani, and my students Ms. Bhargavi and Ms. Sowmiya of Biomedical Engineering Department, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, for their help and suggestions.

I wish to extend my sincere thanks to Dr. J. Kumar, Department of General Medicine, and Dr. Panchapakesa Rajendran, Head, Rheumatology Department, SRM Hospital and Research Center, for providing support and encouragement in collecting the data at SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Center.