NEONATAL THERMOGRAPHY

Abstract

Anterior and posterior view thermograms were recorded in 37 neonates. Studies were performed under a radiant heater servocontroled to an abdominal skin temperature of 36.0.degree. C. Heart, liver and kidneys, being highly vascular structures, were detected as warm areas on the body surface. A longitudinal study of an infant with a patent ductus arteriosus and congestive heart failure demonstrated a genearlly cooler chest following a decrease in pulmonary artery blood flow accomplished by ductal ligation. Another infant demonstrated a unilateral warm area posteriorly over the left flank. At autopsy the right kidney and its vasculature were moderately hypoplastic. Thermography may prove to be a simple noninvasive tool for routine screening in the neonate of highly vascular internal organs. Thermographic detection of a renal malformation may offer considerable potential.