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Updated: Sep 27, 2025
How to Administer Near-Infrared Spectroscopy in Critically ill Neonates, Infants, and Children
Published on: August 19, 2020
Optical Thermography Infrastructure to Assess Thermal Distribution in Critically Ill Children
Monisha Shcherbakova1,2, Rita Noumeir3, Michael Levy4
1Ecole de Technologie Superieure Montreal QC H3C1K3 Canada.
Insights
Infrared thermography effectively estimates body temperature in critically ill children by analyzing skin surface temperature profiles. This non-invasive method shows good correlation with clinical measurements, suggesting potential for monitoring cardiac output changes.
Area of Science:
- Medical Imaging
- Pediatric Critical Care
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Skin surface temperature distribution may indicate cardiac output changes.
- Non-invasive monitoring is crucial for critically ill pediatric patients.
- Infrared thermography offers a potential tool for assessing physiological parameters.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate infrared thermography for analyzing skin temperature profiles in critically ill children.
- To explore the utility of thermography in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) setting.
Main Methods:
- Infrared thermography was employed to capture temperature data from pediatric intensive care unit patients.
- Core (θc) and limb (θl) temperatures were extracted, along with temperature gradients.
- Data analysis included correlation with clinical axillary temperature measurements.
Main Results:
- Median core temperature (θc) was 33.88°C and median limb temperature (θl) was 30.21°C.
- A significant positive correlation was observed between θc and clinical axillary temperature (rho = 0.39, p=0.016).
- A strong positive correlation was found between core and limb temperatures (θc and θl; rho = 0.66, p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
- Infrared thermography is an effective method for estimating body temperature in critically ill children.
- Further research is needed to correlate thermographic findings with specific clinical conditions, such as cardiac output variations.
Abstract:
The temperature distribution at the skin surface could be a useful tool to monitor changes in cardiac output. Goal: The aim of this study was to explore infrared thermography as a method to analyze temperature profiles of critically ill children. Methods: Patients admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) were included in this study. An infrared sensor was used to take images in clinical conditions. The infrared core and limb temperatures (θc & θl) were extracted, as well as temperatures along a line drawn between these two regions. Results: The median [interquartile range] θc extracted from the images was 33.88°C [32.74-34.19] and the median θl was 30.21°C [28.89-33.13]. There was a good correlation between the θc and the clinical axillary temperature (rho = 0.39, p-value = 0.016). There was also a good correlation between the θc and θl (rho = 0.66, p-value = 1.2 e-05). Conclusion: Thermography was found to be effective to estimate the body temperature. Correlation with specific clinical conditions needs further study.
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