Recommended best practices for acquiring thermal imaging data from in-situ clinical environments and exploratory data analysis of COVID-19 data.
Date
2024-09-18
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Abstract
This thesis explores the use, process, and outcomes of low-cost, non-invasive, and non-radiating thermal imaging in in-situ clinical environments. The primary objective of the research was to develop best practice guidelines, enhancing the application of thermal imaging in in-situ clinical environments. These recommended best practices introduced a new general approach to acquire thermal images in in-situ clinical settings, which was validated in a COVID-19 clinical setting. A total of 109 participants were recruited from a Level 1 Trauma Center in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The sample size was reduced to 38 participants (n=38) due to experimental limitations. To facilitate this research, a hand-held commercial medical grade device was designed and built. A tablet was outfitted with a commercial thermal sensor and encased with a 3D printed plastic protective case. The outfitted tablet was used to acquire 3 images from each participants (front, left and right views). Clinical data was also collected and aggregated with the thermal image data. The comprehensive dataset was used to explore potential coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) thermal characteristics in humans. The primary contributions of this thesis include a detailed list of recommendations to acquire thermal imaging data in in-situ clinical environments, providing insights into the challenges, limitations, and nuances of in-situ thermal data collection. The study identified potential underlying patterns, anomalies, and characteristics within the data that could be used to differentiate COVID-19 infections from other infections. The results suggest that using multiple regions of interest has the potential to offer a more accurate indication of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection status than single-region measurements, such as forehead thermometer readings. Thus, highlighting the promising potential of thermal imaging for clinical diagnostics, especially during pandemics, while recommending key guidelines to enhance its practical application in real-world medical settings.
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Keywords
Thermal Imaging, In-situ Clinical Environments, Best Practices, Exploratory Data Analysis, COVID-19, Medical Imaging, Infection Detection, Health Monitoring, Data Acquisition, Temperature Measurement
Citation
Anderson, C. (2024). Recommended best practices for acquiring thermal imaging data from in-situ clinical environments and exploratory data analysis of COVID-19 data (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.