Syed Shahbaz, Girish Katti, Sreenivasrao Ghali and Karuna
ABSTRACT
Thermography is based on the ability to image the heat emission of the human body. Most biochemical processes generate heat which must be dissipated. Skin is the major route for heat dissipation using blood as the heat exchange fluid. Skin temperature is an indicator of aberrations in metabolism, hemodynamics or in neuronal thermoregulatory processes. Since most of the heat dissipation of skin is by infrared blackbody emission, skin temperature should be measured without contact by monitoring the emitted infrared radiation. This has been the basis of infrared thermography. Infrared thermography is technique for sensing and recording on film, hot and cold areas of the body by means of infrared detectors that reacts to blood flow. This paper deals with infrared thermography technique and its applications in orofacial diagnosis.
Key words: thermography, infrared, blackbody emission.