Application of Infrared Thermography in the Rehabilitation of Patients in Veterinary Medicine
Alejandro Casas-Alvarado,
Asahi Ogi,
Dina Villanueva-García,
Julio Martínez-Burnes,
Ismael Hernández-Avalos,
Adriana Olmos-Hernández,
Patricia Mora-Medina,
Adriana Domínguez-Oliva,
Daniel Mota-Rojas
Affiliations
Alejandro Casas-Alvarado
PhD Program in Biological and Health Sciences, [Doctorado en Ciencias Biológicas y de la Salud], Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), Mexico City 04960, Mexico
Asahi Ogi
Department of Neurobiology and Molecular Medicine, IRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris, 56128 Pisa, Italy
Dina Villanueva-García
Division of Neonatology, Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez, Mexico City 06720, Mexico
Julio Martínez-Burnes
Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, Victoria City 87000, Mexico
Ismael Hernández-Avalos
Clinical Pharmacology and Veterinary Anesthesia, Biological Sciences Department, FESC, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Cuautitlán 54714, Mexico
Adriana Olmos-Hernández
Division of Biotechnology—Bioterio and Experimental Surgery, Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitación-Luis Guillermo Ibarra Ibarra (INR-LGII), Mexico City 14389, Mexico
Patricia Mora-Medina
Facultad de Estudios Superiores Cuautitlán, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Cuautitlán Izcalli 54714, Mexico
Adriana Domínguez-Oliva
Neurophysiology of Pain, Behavior and Assessment of Welfare in Domestic Animals, DPAA, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), Mexico City 04960, Mexico
Daniel Mota-Rojas
Neurophysiology of Pain, Behavior and Assessment of Welfare in Domestic Animals, DPAA, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), Mexico City 04960, Mexico
Infrared Thermography (IRT) has become an assistance tool in medicine and is used to noninvasively evaluate heat elimination during and after inflammatory processes or during the recovery period. However, its application in veterinary patients undergoing physiotherapy is a field that requires deep research. This review aims to analyze the application of IRT in the monitoring of animal physiotherapy, using the thermal changes that are present in patients undergoing gait or lameness issues (e.g., inflammation, pain, increased local temperature) as a neurobiological basis. Rehabilitation techniques such as acupuncture, physical therapies, thermotherapy, photo-biomodulation, and electrostimulation have been reported to have an anti-inflammatory effect that decreases the amount of local heat production, which is heat that can be recorded with IRT. Therefore, IRT could be used as a complementary tool to evaluate the effectiveness of the therapy, and it is suggested that further studies evaluate the accuracy, sensibility, and sensitivity of IRT.
