Using Thermography to Monitor Inflammation as a Non-Invasive Supplementary Diagnostic Tool for Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in a Sprague Dawley Rat Model

Author

Sonja Anne Jensen

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Prabhu, Rajkumar

Committee Member

Williams, Lakiesha N.

Committee Member

Feugang, Jean M.N.

Committee Member

Baumgartner, Wes

Date of Degree

12-8-2017

Original embargo terms

Worldwide

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Biomedical Engineering

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

James Worth Bagley College of Engineering

Department

Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Abstract

Incurring high economic cost due to medical imaging modalities, there is a need for a low-cost, on site, diagnostic screening tool for the early detection of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). We hypothesize that patients with TBI will exhibit temporal and spatial gradient dynamics in the thermal signature on the surface of the skin, and that these dynamics reflect the inflammatory process. Hence, we implemented far-infrared (FIR) thermography using a blunt TBI rat model to analyze changes in the external, surface temperature gradient as an indication of internal inflammation. Results show a consistent increase in average surface temperature after 0.5 days of recovery post-impact. The trend in average surface temperature decreases after 1 day of recovery with a continual decline observed after a 4-day recovery. After 7 days of recovery, the average surface temperature begins to increase with a substantial surge seen 14 days post-impact. The trend appears to correlate well with the inflammatory process.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/18954

Recommended Citation

Jensen, Sonja Anne, "Using Thermography to Monitor Inflammation as a Non-Invasive Supplementary Diagnostic Tool for Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in a Sprague Dawley Rat Model" (2017). Theses and Dissertations. 4915.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/4915