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Review
. 2022 Apr 26;22(9):3327.
doi: 10.3390/s22093327.

Skin Cancer Detection Using Infrared Thermography: Measurement Setup, Procedure and Equipment

Jan Verstockt  1 , Simon Verspeek  1 , Filip Thiessen  2 , Wiebren A Tjalma  3 , Lieve Brochez  4 , Gunther Steenackers  1
Affiliations
Review

Skin Cancer Detection Using Infrared Thermography: Measurement Setup, Procedure and Equipment

Jan Verstockt et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

Infrared thermography technology has improved dramatically in recent years and is gaining renewed interest in the medical community for applications in skin tissue identification applications. However, there is still a need for an optimized measurement setup and protocol to obtain the most appropriate images for decision making and further processing. Nowadays, various cooling methods, measurement setups and cameras are used, but a general optimized cooling and measurement protocol has not been defined yet. In this literature review, an overview of different measurement setups, thermal excitation techniques and infrared camera equipment is given. It is possible to improve thermal images of skin lesions by choosing an appropriate cooling method, infrared camera and optimized measurement setup.

Keywords: cooling setup; infrared camera; infrared thermography; measurement setup; skin cancer; skin lesion.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Radiance of blackbodies for various temperatures.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The electromagnetic spectrum with a subdivision for infrared wavelengths.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Lock-in (a) Lock-in device. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [62]. 2014, John Wiley & Sons A/S; (b) Description of lock-in setup. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [62]. 2014, John Wiley & Sons A/S.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The spectral range of different IR detectors in relation to the spectral radiance of a blackbody at different equilibrium temperatures. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [13]. 2016, Elsevier.
Figure 5
Figure 5
IR camera with macro lens placed on a tripod. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [27]. 2006, ACTA Press.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Region of interest markers for IR thermography on skin lesions used in literature. (a) Type of markers used by Buzug et al. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [27]. 2006, ACTA Press. (b) Square marker by Godoy et al. Adapted with permission from Ref. [9]. 2017, Optical Society of America. (c) Triangulated markers by Shada et al. Adapted with permission from Ref. [98]. 2013, Elsevier. (d) Square marker by Cetingül et al. Adapted with permission from Ref. [12]. 2011, JoVE.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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