title: [Analysis of physiologic and abnormal pictures of uterine cervix by means of infrared thermography].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Diagnosis of the uterine cervix lesions remains a key element of the women's health care especially in the context of the cervical carcinoma prophylaxis. The infrared mapping constitutes a new generation biophysical diagnostic method of potential application in medicine.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The study was planned to analyze uterine cervix thermograms in both physiology and pathology of this organ. An attempt was made to establish the standard thermographic pattern of the portion.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study population consisted of 51 women aged from 20 do 70 years. In total, 109 thermographic patterns were analyzed by the computer processing of the thermovision data. In order to establish a physiologic standard, 14 thermograms of the normal cervix were analyzed in detail. Furthermore, thermograms of such cervical lesions as endocervical polyp (3 patients), erosion (PAP II) (11 cases), CIN I-III (9 patients) and invasive cancer (6 patients) were studied. The diagnosis was based on clinical, cytologic and colposcopic criteria as well as on the pathology report. The infrared camera AGEMA AGA-880 and the specialized software was used. The measurements were done in a standardized climatic environment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Comparisons between the studied groups revealed significant differences between invasive cervical cancer and benign lesions or healthy cervix. Significant were also differences in mean temperature and highest temperature for all the studied groups. The difference in mean whole portion temperature between the normal cervix and invasive planoepithelial cancer amounted to 1.4 degrees C while in comparison to other lesions it did not exceed 0.5 degree C. Statistical analysis of the averaged profiles of cervical temperatures has also shown significant differences between invasive cancer and the remaining groups--by 1.5 degrees C in average. Strong interrelationships (p < 0.001) were found among the single results of thermography measurements within all the groups. The thermographic profiles of all 14 thermograms of normal portion did not exceed the two standard deviations range of the established standard with the mean temperature of 36.56 degrees +/- 0.56 degree C.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  1. The established thermographic mapping patterns of the normal cervix may form a basis for the future evaluation of the diagnostic application of computer thermography in gynecology. 2. Statistically significant differences were found in thermographic profiles of the portion between the normal cervix and such cervical lesions as endocervical polyp, erosion (PAP II), CIN and invasive cancer. 3. Invasive cervical cancer reveals thermographic pattern of relatively high specificity within the analyzed cervical lesions.
authors.affiliation: III Katedry i Kliniki Ginekologii AM w Lublinie.
authors.forename: Arkadiusz
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Smaga
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Paszkowski
authors.forename: Sławomir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Woźniak
authors.forename: Ryszard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Walczak
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001831:Body Temperature; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007259:Infrared Rays; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013817:Thermography / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D002577:Uterine Cervical Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D002578:Uterine Cervical Dysplasia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology