Nhan B R, Chau T
Bloorview Research Institute, 150 Kilgour Road, Toronto, ON M4G 1R8, Canada.
Physiol Meas. 2009 Apr;30(4):N23-35. doi: 10.1088/0967-3334/30/4/N01. Epub 2009 Mar 31.
In this study we examine the baseline characteristics of facial skin temperature, as measured by dynamic infrared thermal imaging, to gauge its potential as a physiological access pathway for non-verbal individuals with severe motor impairments. Frontal facial recordings were obtained from 12 asymptomatic adults in a resting state with a high-end infrared thermal imaging system. From the infrared thermal recordings, mean skin temperature time series were generated for regions of interest encompassing the nasal, periorbital and supraorbital areas. A 90% bandwidth for all regions of interest was found to be in the 1 Hz range. Over 70% of the time series were identified as nonstationary (p<0.05), with the nonstationary mean as the greatest contributing source. Correlation coefficients between regions were significant (p<0.05) and ranged from values of 0.30 (between periorbital and supraorbital regions) to 0.75 (between contralateral supraorbital regions). Using information measures, we concluded that the greatest degree of information existed in the nasal and periorbital regions. Mutual information existed across all regions but was especially prominent between the nasal and periorbital regions. Results from this study provide insight into appropriate analysis methods and potential discriminating features for the application of facial skin temperature as a physiological access pathway.
在本研究中，我们通过动态红外热成像技术检测面部皮肤温度的基线特征，以评估其作为重度运动障碍非言语个体生理接入途径的潜力。使用高端红外热成像系统，从12名处于静息状态的无症状成年人获取额面部记录。从红外热记录中，为包括鼻、眶周和眶上区域的感兴趣区域生成平均皮肤温度时间序列。发现所有感兴趣区域的90%带宽在1赫兹范围内。超过70%的时间序列被确定为非平稳的（p<0.05），其中非平稳均值是最大的贡献来源。各区域之间的相关系数显著（p<0.05），范围从0.30（眶周和眶上区域之间）到0.75（对侧眶上区域之间）。使用信息度量，我们得出结论，鼻和眶周区域存在最大程度的信息。所有区域之间都存在互信息，但在鼻和眶周区域之间尤为突出。本研究结果为将面部皮肤温度作为生理接入途径的应用提供了合适的分析方法和潜在鉴别特征的见解。
