The Use of Thermal Imaging in the Evaluation of Temperature Effects of Radiotherapy in Patients after Mastectomy—First Study
Agnieszka Baic,
Dominika Plaza,
Barbara Lange,
Marta Reudelsdorf-Ullmann,
Łukasz Michalecki,
Agata Stanek,
Krzysztof Ślosarek,
Armand Cholewka
Affiliations
Agnieszka Baic
Department of Medical Physics, A. Chełkowski Institute of Physics, University of Silesia, 75 Pułku Piechoty 1A St., 41-500 Chorzów, Poland
Dominika Plaza
Radiotherapy Planning Department, Maria Skłodowska—Curie National Research Institute of Oncology Gliwice Branch, Wybrzeze Armii Krajowej Street 15, 44-102 Gliwice, Poland
Barbara Lange
Radiotherapy Planning Department, Maria Skłodowska—Curie National Research Institute of Oncology Gliwice Branch, Wybrzeze Armii Krajowej Street 15, 44-102 Gliwice, Poland
Marta Reudelsdorf-Ullmann
Radiotherapy Planning Department, Maria Skłodowska—Curie National Research Institute of Oncology Gliwice Branch, Wybrzeze Armii Krajowej Street 15, 44-102 Gliwice, Poland
Łukasz Michalecki
Department of Radiation Oncology, University Clinical Center of the Medical University of Silesia, Medyków 14 St., 40-572 Katowice, Poland
Agata Stanek
Department and Clinic of Internal Medicine, Angiology and Physical Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia, Batorego 15 St., 41-902 Bytom, Poland
Krzysztof Ślosarek
Radiotherapy Planning Department, Maria Skłodowska—Curie National Research Institute of Oncology Gliwice Branch, Wybrzeze Armii Krajowej Street 15, 44-102 Gliwice, Poland
Armand Cholewka
Department of Medical Physics, A. Chełkowski Institute of Physics, University of Silesia, 75 Pułku Piechoty 1A St., 41-500 Chorzów, Poland
The aim of the study was to evaluate the temperature parameter of the breast area in patients undergoing radiotherapy at various intervals. The relationship between temperature changes on the patient’s skin and the time after the end of radiotherapy was studied. Measurements with a thermal imaging camera were performed in a group of twelve volunteers. Six of them were healthy women who did not have thermal asymmetry between the breasts, whereas six were diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent mastectomy due to the advanced stage of the disease. The patients were qualified for radiation therapy. Thermographic examinations were performed before treatment, two months later and then six months after the end of the treatment. Temperature differences between the healthy breasts and the treated areas were assessed. Additionally, the correlation between a patient’s skin temperature changes and the time after the end of radiotherapy was analyzed. The highest skin temperature increase (1.47 °C) was observed 6 months after the end of RT compared to the measurement before treatment. It seems that thermovision may bring a new tool for quantitative analyses of the temperature effects of radiotherapy.