Abstract
Introduction Although computed tomography scanning is the most common method for the diagnosis
of sinusitis today, X-ray imaging is still used in outpatient clinics. Because X-ray
imaging is beneficial for patients with severe sinusitis but not for those with mild
sinusitis, an alternative method to visualize sinusitis without X-ray imaging is desirable.
Objective To study the possibility of using thermography to visualize sinusitis.
Methods In the present study, heat distribution on the faces of individuals with and without
sinusitis was studied using thermography. Overall, 10 control subjects and 20 patients
with sinusitis were included. Original thermography data were cropped, resized, and
converted to relative thermography data based on the average temperature for visualization
and statistical analysis.
Results The shape of the maxillary and/or frontal sinuses was determined based on regions
indicating increased temperature in patients with sinusitis. The region with increasing
temperature was statistically visualized, and the significant side (t test, p < 0.05) coincided with the maxillary shadow on X-ray imaging.
Conclusion Thermography demonstrates visually the correlation between the surface temperature
of the face and inflammation patterns in the paranasal sinus. Therefore, our comparative
study using thermography to visually differentiate individuals with and without sinusitis
was effective, indicating that thermography is a possible alternative to X-ray imaging
to detect sinusitis.
Keywords
Thermography - sinusitis - paranasal sinuses - maxillary sinus - inflammation
