The aim of the study was to determine the diagnostic usefulness of thermal imaging as tool to find quantitative parameters in lower-limb primary chronic venous diseases and insufficiency of superficial veins. There were significant differences obtained in thermal maps of lower extremities between patients and healthy. The correlations were obtained between temperature parameters counted from thermal imaging and duplex scanning. Such results also suggest that thermovision diagnostics may be useful as a complementary and first of all objective method that can be used in the diagnosis of chronic venous diseases in the lower extremities. It may suggest that thermovision may be used as a screening method or together with an ultrasound diagnosis in different superficial veins disorders.
TopChronic Venous Diesease (Cvd)
Chronic venous disease ranks among civilization diseases and its occurrence increases in both sexes nearly linearly with age. However the probability of venous insufficiency occurring increases with number of pregnancies. The probability of lower-limb venous disease appearing is estimated at 40-50% for men and 50-55% for women, whereas visible varicose veins and chronic venous insufficiency are, respectively, present in 10-15% and 2-7% of the male population and 20-25% and 3-7% of the female population. Moreover it usually is observed for people beyond 50 years old however it can be seen also in younger people (Švestková & Pospíšilová, 2008; Chiesa, Marone, Limoni, Volonte, Schaefer, & Petrini, 2005). For example in the United States, an estimated 23% of adults have varicose veins, and 6% have more advanced chronic venous disease (CVD), including skin changes and venous ulcers (Sieroń, Cierpka, Rybak, & Stanek, 2009; Kaplan, Criqui, Denenberg, Bergan, & Fronek, 2003). Such symptoms may cause pain and discomfort, what lead to absence or disability of work, and a deterioration of a healthy quality of life (Van den Oever, Hepp, Debbaut & Simon, 1998; Kaplan, Criqui, Denenberg, Bergan, & Fronek, 2003). It is also observed that it usually afflicts industrial countries. Therefore chronic venous disease is considered as civilization problem (Van den Oever, Hepp, Debbaut, & Simon, 1998; Kaplan, Criqui, Denenberg, Bergan, & Fronek, 2003).