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Utility of Infrared Thermography in Assessing Synovitis in Rheumatoid Arthritis: An Observational Study
Nidhish M Chandra1, Puneet Kumar1, Urmila Dhakad1
1Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, King George's Medical University, Lucknow, IND.
Cureus
|February 17, 2026
Summary
Infrared thermography (IRT) shows promise as a non-invasive tool for assessing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease activity. This method effectively detects joint inflammation and correlates with clinical scores, offering a cost-effective solution for RA management.
Area of Science:
- Rheumatology
- Medical Imaging
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) requires objective tools for disease activity assessment.
- Current methods may lack cost-effectiveness, user-friendliness, or objectivity.
- Infrared thermography (IRT) presents a potential non-invasive solution.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the utility of IRT in assessing RA disease activity.
- To evaluate temperature differences between diseased and healthy joints.
- To correlate IRT findings with the Disease Activity Score (DAS28-ESR).
Main Methods:
- Recruited 50 RA patients and 50 healthy controls.
- Assessed clinical disease activity using DAS28-ESR.
- Performed IRT on 28 joints, comparing mean joint temperature (T mean) between groups.
Main Results:
- Mean joint temperature (T mean) was significantly higher in RA patients (p<0.05).
- IRT showed a moderate correlation with DAS28-ESR (r=0.646).
- ROC analysis indicated an AUC of 0.84, with 83% sensitivity and 73% specificity at 33.45°C.
Conclusions:
- IRT is a promising non-invasive tool for detecting joint inflammation in RA.
- IRT can identify subclinical synovitis and tenosynovitis.
- This technology has potential for enhancing clinical practice, especially in resource-limited settings.
