Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, University of Naples Federico II, 80125 Naples, Italy.
Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Polytechnic University of Turin, 10129 Turin, Italy.
Sensors (Basel). 2023 Sep 22;23(19):8037. doi: 10.3390/s23198037.
This work proposes an innovative method, based on the use of low-cost infrared thermography (IRT) instrumentation, to assess in real time the effectiveness of scoliosis braces. Establishing the effectiveness of scoliosis braces means deciding whether the pressure exerted by the brace on the patient's back is adequate for the intended therapeutic purpose. Traditionally, the evaluation of brace effectiveness relies on empirical, qualitative assessments carried out by orthopedists during routine follow-up examinations. Hence, it heavily depends on the expertise of the orthopedists involved. In the state of the art, the only objective methods used to confirm orthopedists' opinions are based on the evaluation of how scoliosis progresses over time, often exposing people to ionizing radiation. To address these limitations, the method proposed in this work aims to provide a real-time, objective assessment of the effectiveness of scoliosis braces in a non-harmful way. This is achieved by exploiting the thermoelastic effect and correlating temperature changes on the patient's back with the mechanical pressure exerted by the braces. A system based on this method is implemented and then validated through an experimental study on 21 patients conducted at an accredited orthopedic center. The experimental results demonstrate a classification accuracy slightly below 70% in discriminating between and pressure, which is an encouraging result for further advancement in view of the clinical use of such systems in orthopedic centers.
本工作提出了一种创新方法，基于使用低成本的红外热成像（IRT）仪器，实时评估脊柱侧弯矫形器的效果。确定脊柱侧弯矫形器的效果意味着确定矫形器对患者背部施加的压力是否足以达到预期的治疗目的。传统上，矫形器效果的评估依赖于骨科医生在常规随访检查中进行的经验性、定性评估。因此，它严重依赖于相关骨科医生的专业知识。在现有技术中，唯一用于证实骨科医生意见的客观方法是基于评估脊柱侧弯随时间的进展，这往往会使人们暴露在电离辐射下。为了解决这些局限性，本工作中提出的方法旨在以非侵入性的方式提供脊柱侧弯矫形器效果的实时、客观评估。这是通过利用热弹效应并将患者背部的温度变化与矫形器施加的机械压力相关联来实现的。基于该方法的系统被实现，并随后通过在认可的骨科中心对 21 名患者进行的实验研究进行验证。实验结果表明，在区分 和 压力时，分类准确率略低于 70%，这对于考虑在骨科中心使用此类系统的临床应用而言是一个令人鼓舞的结果。
