Generation of three-dimensional medical thermograms

To visualise non-invasively human organs in their true form and shape has intrigued mankind for centuries. Three-dimensional (3D) imaging is one recent development that has brought us closer to fulfilling the age-old quest of non-invasive visualisation so that diagnoses by doctors can be efficiently enhanced. Nowadays, 3D CT and MRI images have been very popular. Thermography is an important medical imaging technique that displays the temperature distribution on the surface of a human organ and it has been proved to be significant in offering a unique physiological reflection of pathology that may confirm or enhance the anatomic findings of other diagnostic imaging modalities. It is the only imaging modality that can evaluate pain whereas plain radiographs, CT and MRI, etc. can only depict structural anatomic abnormalities that may not always coincide with patients' clinical complaints. It is against this background that 3D thermograms have been developed. A set of comprehensive calibration procedures for the 3-camera system have been designed based on different models for the optical and infrared cameras. The accuracy of the results is high enough to produce 3D thermograms that can be used to correlate with the 3D images from other medical imaging modalities. One important achievement of the system is that the resultant 3D images are absolutely dimensioned and hence, it is particularly favourable for fully autonomous applications with robots. The system can also provide an overall picture of both the structural abnormalities and nervous responses of patients.