Breathing mode assessment with thermography: a pilot study.
Yasmim Carvalho Telson, Renata Maria Moreira Moraes Furlan, Rafael Augusto Magalhães Ferreira and 2 others
PMID 38629647WHAT IT FOUND
Infrared thermography distinguished nasal from mouth breathing in four adults.
Mouth temperatures were consistently higher than nose temperatures. The study suggests this non-contact method could objectively assess breathing mode, but the tiny sample means it is not yet a clinical tool.
Key findings
01Mouth temperatures were always higher than nose temperatures, regardless of whether the participant was inhaling or exhaling.
02Mean temperatures were generally more stable than minimum or maximum temperatures, making them the most suitable metric for distinguishing breathing modes.
03Using a line to select the area of interest resulted in higher data variation compared to rectangular or oval shapes, suggesting the latter are more efficient for measurement.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The sample size was extremely small (4 participants). All participants were healthy nasal breathers; the study did not include actual mouth breathers or patients with respiratory complaints. The breathing mode in the second phase was simulated, not habitual. The study did not assess inter-rater or intra-rater reliability. Head movement during breathing was not monitored, which could affect temperature readings.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was approved by the Institution's Research Ethics Committee.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret this as evidence that thermography is a ready-to-use clinical diagnostic tool. The study involved only four healthy adults simulating mouth breathing, so it cannot currently distinguish habitual mouth breathers from nasal breathers in a patient population.