FRI0557 : Thermographic analysis of hands and wrists of rheumatoid arthritis patients

Abstract

Thermography has been utilised in a number of studies in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), however there is a paucity of evidence as regards to the possibility of applying this non-invasive technology to the detection of synovitis of the hands and wrists. With normative data having been already published, it is now possible to compare the thermographic characteristics of RA patients without active synovitis to those with a normal thermal distribution in order to determine the baseline characteristics of RA hands and wrists. This would consequently provide a foundation against which further studies investigating RA patients with synovitis can be compared. [Excerpt]