Reliability of infrared thermography in skin temperature evaluation of wheelchair users

Study design: Test–retest reliability analysis segmented by body parts. Objectives: To examine the reliability of infrared thermography (IRT) in wheelchair users (WCUs), as a noninvasive and risk-free technique to detect the natural thermal radiation emitted by human skin and to allow subsequent interpretations of temperature distributions. Setting: Research Center on Physical Disability of Valladolid, ASPAYM Castilla y León Foundation, Spain. Methods: Twenty-four manual WCUs (22 men, 2 women) participated in this study. Skin temperature (Tsk) of 16 and 20 areas of the front and rear upper body, respectively, were measured using an infrared camera. Two thermographic images were recorded in each session during two days separated by 24 h. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics, intraclass correlation coefficients, coefficients of variation and side-to-side skin temperature differences (δTsk). Results: The intraclass correlation coefficient produced values ranging from 15 to 95 for the various regions of interest. The coefficient of variation ranged between 1.05–6.18%. The mean Tsk of the front upper body was 31.92 °C, and that of the rear upper body was 31.77 °C. The total δTsk was 0.09±0.44°C, r =0.583. Conclusion: The reliability of IRT varies depending on the analyzed areas. IRT is a noninvasive and noncontact technique that allows measuring the temperature of the skin, with which to advance in WCU research.