Thermography imaging uses naturally emitted infrared radiation from the
skin’s surface. Established and evolving medical applications of thermal imaging
include inflammatory diseases, complex regional pain syndrome, Raynaud’s
phenomenon, fever screening, cancer screening. Temperature distribution on body
surface is influenced by a variety of physiological mechanisms and has been proven a
reliable indicator of various disorders. The credibility of thermal imaging is subject to
the quality assurance and measurement standardization protocols. The purpose of the
present study was: a) To experimentally evaluate the emissivity of surfaces behaving
in different ways in terms of thermal radiation emissivity, with a thermal camera, as a
camera standardisation procedure, and b) To experimentally evaluate the
characteristics of skin temperature increase caused by exposure to far infrared
radiation. The results indicate a high accuracy of the thermographic method.
Temperature increase rate in the anatomical area of the upper limb does not seem to
depend on the location of the measurement spot. Absolute temperature values, though,
do differ as expected due to different blood perfusion.