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World J Radiol. Mar 28, 2026; 18(3): 116736
Published online Mar 28, 2026. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v18.i3.116736
Published online Mar 28, 2026. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v18.i3.116736
Infrared thermography as adjunctive imaging in spine surgery: Evaluating thermal asymmetry for predicting symptomatic level and recovery
Sathish Muthu, Central Research Laboratory, Meenakshi Medical College Hospital and Research Institute, Meenakshi Academy of Higher Education and Research, Kanchipuram 631552, Tamil Nādu, India
Sathish Muthu, Vibhu Krishnan Viswanathan, Department of Spine Surgery, Orthopedic Research Group, Coimbatore 641045, Tamil Nādu, India
Kavya Priyadharshini Natarajan, Department of Radiodiagnosis, Government Medical College, Karur 639004, Tamil Nādu, India
Vibhu Krishnan Viswanathan, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Alabama, Alabaster, AL 35487, United States
Dhibin Vikash Kolarpatti Ponnusamy, Department of Orthopedics, Government Medical College, Karur 639004, Tamil Nādu, India
Rajappan Chandra Satish Kumar, Clinical Trial and Research Unit, Interdisciplinary Institute of Indian System of Medicine, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai 603203, Tamil Nādu, India
Khan Sharun, Graduate Institute of Medicine, Yuan Ze University, Taoyuan 32003, Taiwan
Hyun Jun Jang, Department of Neurosurgery, Spine and Spinal Cord Institute, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 06273, South Korea
Author contributions: Muthu S contributed to conceptualization, methodology, supervision, manuscript writing - original draft, data interpretation; Natarajan KP contributed to data curation; Natarajan KP, Viswanathan VK, Kolarpatti Ponnusamy DV, and Sharun K contributed to writing - review and editing; Viswanathan VK contributed to statistical analysis; Kolarpatti Ponnusamy DV contributed to visualization, receiver operating characteristic curve modeling; Satish Kumar RC contributed to clinical validation and critical review of postoperative outcomes; Sharun K contributed to literature review and reference management; Jang HJ contributed to patient recruitment, clinical data extraction, ethics approval coordination, and final manuscript review.
Institutional review board statement: This retrospective study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Government Medical College (Approval No. 2284/ME6/2025-6/12-1), and all procedures were adherent to the principles of Helsinki.
Informed consent statement: Considering the retrospective nature of the study, individual patient consent was waived for the usage of deidentified patient data.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: The data will be made available upon reasonable request to the authors.
Corresponding author: Sathish Muthu, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Central Research Laboratory, Meenakshi Medical College Hospital and Research Institute, Meenakshi Academy of Higher Education and Research, Raasi Nagar, Karrapettai Post, Enathur, Kanchipuram 631552, Tamil Nādu, India. drsathishmuthu@gmail.com
Received: November 19, 2025
Revised: January 26, 2026
Accepted: February 27, 2026
Published online: March 28, 2026
Processing time: 127 Days and 9.4 Hours
Revised: January 26, 2026
Accepted: February 27, 2026
Published online: March 28, 2026
Processing time: 127 Days and 9.4 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Infrared thermography (IRT) provides a novel, non-invasive biomarker for assessing symptomatic spinal levels and recovery after surgery. In this retrospective study, IRT demonstrated strong preoperative concurrence with clinical loca