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A Review on Infrared Thermal Imaging as a Tool in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

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New Perspectives on Applied Industrial Ergonomics

Abstract

This research reviews 18 scientific articles concerning the application of infrared thermography (IRT) in the mensuration of diagnostic studies of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). In addition, the proposed future challenges in this research area are identified. A review of articles is performed in databases such as PubMed, Scopus, EBSCO, ELSEVIER, Springer, and Oxford Academic using the keywords: carpal tunnel syndrome and (thermography OR infrared image OR thermal image). Its contents, journals publishing the topic, and the year of publication are reviewed, and graphs and cross tables are constructed. Using databases such as PubMed, Scopus, EBSCO, ELSEVIER, Springer, and Oxford Academic, 937 articles are identified, 37 of which were duplicates. The titles and abstracts of the remaining articles were reviewed, and 855 articles were deleted due to exclusion criteria. Eighteen articles were found written in foreign language, five were removed for not covering the topic (three reviews and two on liquid crystal thermography), and four were not available online. Finally, eighteen articles were selected for the full text review, from which 13 articles meet the CTS diagnostic classification and 5 consider the CTS studies. IRT is a reliable method in the diagnosis of CTS, mainly in the first stage. To improve diagnostic accuracy, it is recommended nerve conduction studies.

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Correspondence to Jorge Luis García-Alcaraz .

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Cázares-Manríquez, M.A. et al. (2021). A Review on Infrared Thermal Imaging as a Tool in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. In: Realyvásquez Vargas, A., García-Alcaraz, J.L., Z-Flores, E. (eds) New Perspectives on Applied Industrial Ergonomics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73468-8_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73468-8_2

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