Abstract

HIDALGO SALVADOR, E.; ALVAREZ GONZALEZ, F.  and  SALVADOR LUNA, A.. Application of Infrared thermography in legal medicine: is it a valid test for an objective assessment of painful syndromes? Temporomandibular disorder. Cuad. med. forense [online]. 2014, vol.20, n.2-3, pp.77-84. ISSN 1988-611X.  https://dx.doi.org/10.4321/S1135-76062014000200002.

One of the aims of Forensic Medicine is the assessment of injuries suffered by patients on different situations (i.e., traffic collisions, work accidents, physical aggression, etc.). The use of complementary tests has always been a key factor for an objective assessment of those injuries' consequences and our expert reports should include all required evidences to prove the residual symptoms reported by patients. One of the most controversial issues has been and continues to be the verifying referred pain by our patients. In that sense infrared thermography has become a useful tool in the assessment of painful processes allowing us to identify pathophysiological changes in the internal environment that can prove the painful condition. In addition to its multiple medical applications, its use is currently regulated and standardized by scientific associations that ensure the compliance of quality standards. In order to introduce and spread the use of this complementary test in the forensic field, we report a case on which the use of infrared thermography allowed to identify abnormalities in thermal equilibrium of chewing muscles on a patient that reported right temporomandibular joint pain after suffering a moderate to severe head injury.

Keywords : Infrared thermography; Temporomandibular disorder; Forensic Medicine; Assessment of body damage.

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