title: [Anomaly of infrared thermal radiation intensity on unilateral mild to moderate Bell's palsy].
abstract: Bell's palsy is a kind of facial nerve diseases with a high incidence, and the patients who get the disease the first time predominate in the patients who suffer mildly or moderately. The aim of the present study is to explore a novel assessment for Bell's palsy objectively and noninvasively based on infrared thermal image. As the acupoints on the face are approximately bilateral symmetric, the acupoints on the affected side were chosen as the experimental group, while the same ones on the other side as the control group. Their infrared thermal radiations were researched separately and the results were as follows: on acute stage, the differences of infrared thermal radiation intensity of the same points were significant between the healthy and affected sides, indicating significant temperature difference (over 0.3 degrees C). The acupoints on the affected side with its surrounding tissue formed an irregular abnormal region on the infrared thermal image. Its pseudocolor was obviously different from that of the healthy side. At the same time, the more serious the Bell's palsy, the more evident the temperature differences of the same acupoints on bilateral sides. It was positive correlation (r=0.676, r=0.498, r=0.506, r=0.545, r=0.518, all P<0.05) between the bilateral temperature differences of acupoints (Quanliao, Dicang, Jiache, Yuyao, Yangbai) and the lesions degree of Bell' palsy, which was statistically significant. Thus, infrared thermal image could be used to objectively assess the severity of Bell' palsy.
authors.affiliation: College of Electrical Engineering, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004, China. xulongliu@126.com
authors.forename: Xu-long
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Wen-xue
authors.initials: WX
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhen-ying
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D015669:Acupuncture Points; D020330:Bell Palsy / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007259:Infrared Rays; D013696:Temperature