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Ergonomics Programs Thermal imaging helps provide a response plan For Workers & Corporations
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Thermographic
changes
in
keyboard operators S D Sharma, Research Fellow, E M Smith, Research Nurse, B L Hazleman, Consultant Rheumatologist,J R Jenner, Consultant Rheumatologist Rheumatology
Research Unit, Box 194, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, b
Addenbrookes NHS Trust, Cambridge CB2
2QQ Chronic incapacitating forearm pain and disability in the context of repetitive action has caused much debate. Lack of objective measurements in a condition with diverse symptoms, few physical signs, and uncertain pathology is a major problem. Clinical observations have suggested the presence of vasomotor changes in repetitive strain injury, so we used computer assisted thermography to assess this. We
conclude that thermography needs further
evaluation as a diagnostic tool in
evaluating repetitive strain injury. It may
prove more useful in follow up, particularly
in measuring response to treatment, some of
which has been prescribed at enormous cost
and with little evidence of benefit.
Thermography
in
the detection of carpal tunnel
Herrick
RT, Herrick SK Studies
were conducted using liquid crystal
thermography (FlexiTherm) and electronic
thermography for the diagnosis of carpal
tunnel syndrome. Studies were also conducted
to differentiate carpal tunnel syndrome from
peripheral neurovascular injuries. Ninety
patients were included in the study, with an
average follow-up time of 24 months. Fifty
patients also had electric studies for
comparison and contrast. Thermal
patterns of carpal tunnel syndrome showed
a decreased vascular heat emission pattern
over the median nerve distribution.
The procedures using thermography consisted
of imaging of the cervical spine, shoulders,
forearms, and hands. Results of the studies
showed that thermographic studies were
efficacious and sensitive for the
differential diagnosis of carpal tunnel
syndrome from other peripheral compressive
neuropathies, including cervical
radiculitis, thoracic outlet syndrome,
cubital tunnel syndrome, and Guyon's canal
syndrome. Biomechanic and etiologic factors
indict carpal tunnel syndrome to be an
occupational disease. Thermographic
technique use may lead to the early
diagnosis, treatment, and preventative
measures that could eliminate the high
cost of manpower loss and of medical care
often Thermographic
observations
in
unilateral carpal tunnel
Tchou
S, Costich JF, Burgess RC, Wexler CE
This
study was undertaken to assess the
sensitivity and specificity of thermographic
diagnosis of unilateral carpal tunnel
syndrome in a patient population large
enough to permit meaningful statistical
analysis. Sixty-one persons with clinical
diagnoses of unilateral carpal tunnel
syndrome confirmed by electrodiagnostic
examination and 40 symptom-free volunteers
underwent standard thermographic
examinations. The thermographic images were
then randomly sorted and interpreted by an
experienced physician thermographer.
Fifty-seven of the 61 patients with carpal
tunnel syndrome were found to have
thermographic abnormalities, while only one
of the control group was found to have such
an abnormality. Individual area sensitivity
was highest in the dorsal area, but addition
of other regions increased this measure;
specificity ranged between 98% and 100%. These
findings would appear to confirm the value
of thermography in the diagnosis of
unilateral carpal tunnel syndrome.
[Thermography
in
the diagnosis of respiratory organ
Shelygin SI A thermographic study of the chest was of importance in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of pneumoconiosis, chronic dust-induced bronchitis, unspecific pulmonary diseases. This could substitute traditional methods of examination. Results make it possible to recommend the method of thermography in the diagnosis of professional diseases as well as in periodic prophylactic screenings of coal miners. |
[Thermographic signs of forearm myopathies in industrial workers]. [Article in Russian]
The
authors described thermographic sign of
forearm myopathy similar to RSI in
industrial workers. The sign is that
upper third of the forearm has skin
temperature higher by over 0.3 degree C
(for associated cervical
osteochondrosis--by over 0.5 degree C) as
lower third of the forearm. The
temperature gradient (up to 2.5 degrees C)
appeared to correlate with more marked
myopathy. [Automated diagnosis of vibration disease]. [Article in Russian]
Based
on a multidimensional discriminant
analysis of the clinical and physiological
characteristics derived as a result of
examination of 593 miners, classification
functions were plotted, allowing the
diagnosis of vibratory disease in the
automatic mode by means of mathematic
computations. Functional indicators of
skin sensitivity, particularly vibratory,
dynamometry, rheovasography and thermography
of the hand and fingers, a "white
spot" symptom, and characteristics derived
on a mathematic
analysis of heart rhythm were established
to be informative for automated diagnosis.
The diagnosis was found to be more
accurate in case of using a two-stage
variant of the discriminant analysis where
the differentiation is first made between
healthy workers and workers with a
pathology, followed by the discrimination
of the preclinical and clinical phase of
the disease. The automated diagnostic
system is demonstrated to compare very
favourably with the conventional method of
diagnosis. [Usefulness of thermal tests
for evaluating vascular changes
The
investigations have been carried out on 40
workers of an industrial factory. Twenty
workers used vibration tools, the others,
having no contact with vibration,
constituted the control group. Each
subject had his skin temperature measured
at 19 points of the left and right hands
at ambient temperature of 22 degrees C and
after cooling at 15 degrees C and 8
degrees C. The results have
demonstrated that early vasomotor
changes are best identified by the
thermal test with cooling at 8
degrees C. Furthermore, this method
enables a topographic estimation of the
hand areas for special risk of the
disturbances in blood vessels of workers
using vibration tools. Normal thermographic standards for the cervical spine and upper extremities. Although thermography has been used for a variety of abnormal conditions, extensive data on large, relatively asymptomatic populations has heretofore not been available. More specifically, no data deal with the upper extremities and, more particularly, no analyses are based on simultaneous thermograms of the posterior neck and shoulders. The current study undertook this task. The results confirm the existence of thermal symmetry in the overwhelming majority of 100 normal relatively asymptomatic, actively employed factory workers. Conversely,if persistent, statistically significant thermal asymmetry exists, as outlined and correlates with patient symptomatology, an organic basis for it should be sought. |
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