An Anatomical Thermal 3D Model in Preclinical Research: Combining CT and Thermal Images

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Veterinary Medicine
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Animal research provides crucial insights into diseases and infections.
• Early detection of animal pain and stress is essential for ethical research.
• Noninvasive thermal imaging is a growing tool for assessing severity in animal studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a multimodal approach for simulating internal temperature profiles in animals.
• To generate anatomical thermal 3D models for detecting deep-seated infections.
• To reduce animal suffering through improved diagnostic capabilities.

Main Methods:

• Acquisition of thermal images and computed tomography (CT) data.
• Camera calibration, image processing, and Structure from Motion (SfM) techniques.
• Registration of 3D anatomical data with thermal imaging data to create multimodal models.

Main Results:

• Successful generation of anatomical thermal 3D models using anesthetized mice.
• Improved image processing enabled modeling in feature-poor areas, enhancing transferability.
• Developed a visualization tool for analyzing 3D models and correlating CT slices with skin temperature.

Conclusions:

• The generated anatomical thermal 3D models represent a significant milestone towards simulating internal temperature profiles.
• This multimodal approach facilitates the detection of deep-seated infections and inflammation.
• The technology has the potential to significantly reduce animal suffering in research settings.