Analysis of Static and Dynamic Infrared Images for Thyroid Nodules Investigation

Disorder of the thyroid glands is a widespread health problem. Early detection of thyroid cancer increases the chances of effective treatment. Dynamic infrared thermal imaging (DITI) is an examination technique that has been recently studied and applied for investigation and diagnosis of different diseases. Patterns allowing differentiate regions of malignant from benignant nodules is a task of great importance in DITI. In this work, two techniques of analysis of thyroid nodules with infrared thermography are investigated: the use of a single thermogram and the use of temperature series. The images used are available for public use by other researchers, and the used techniques are completely described as well as the achieved results. No other works using infrared images until now have considered DITI examination for thyroid nodules investigation. Moreover, it is the first work to release the used images for public use and possible future comparison.