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Finger Thermoregulatory Model Assessing Functional Impairment in Raynaud’s Phenomenon

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Abstract

Raynaud’s Phenomenon (RP) is a paroxysmal vasospastic disorder of small arteries, pre-capillary arteries, and cutaneous arteriovenous shunts of the extremities, typically induced by cold exposure and emotional stress. RP is either primary (PRP) or secondary to systemic sclerosis. In this study we use Control System Theory to model finger thermoregulatory processes in response to a standardized cold challenge (a diagnostic test routinely performed for differential diagnosis of RP). The proposed model is based on a homeostatic negative feedback loop, characterized by five distinct parameters which describe how the control mechanisms are activated and maintained. Thermal infrared imaging data from 14 systemic sclerosis subjects (SSc), 14 PRP, and 16 healthy control subjects (HCS) were processed. HCS presented the fastest active recovery, with the highest gain. PRP presented the slowest and weakest recovery, mostly due to passive heat exchange with the environment. SSc presented an intermediate behavior, with the longest delay of response onset. The estimated model parameters elucidated the level of functional impairment expressed in the various forms of this disease.

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Abbreviations

CIVD:

Cold induced vasodilation

fIR:

Functional Infrared

HCS:

Healthy controls

IR:

Thermal Infrared

LT:

Lag time

PRP:

Primary Raynaud’s Phenomenon

RP:

Raynaud’s Phenomenon

SSc:

Systemic sclerosis subjects

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Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful to Luigi Di Donato for his expert technical assistance in performing digital thermal imaging measurements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Sciences and Bioimaging, “G. d’Annunzio” University, Chieti, Italy

    Alessandro Mariotti, Giuliana Grossi, Peter A. Mattei, Gian Luca Romani & Arcangelo Merla

  2. ITAB – Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies, Fondazione “Università G. d’Annunzio”, Via dei Vestini, 31, 66013, Chieti, Italy

    Gian Luca Romani & Arcangelo Merla

  3. Department of Dermatology, “G. d’Annunzio” University, Chieti, Italy

    Paolo Amerio & Antonio Tulli

  4. DIIGA, Dipartimento Ingegneria Informatica, Gestionale e dell’Automazione, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy

    Giuseppe Orlando

Authors
  1. Alessandro Mariotti
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  2. Giuliana Grossi
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  3. Paolo Amerio
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  4. Giuseppe Orlando
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  5. Peter A. Mattei
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  6. Antonio Tulli
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  7. Gian Luca Romani
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  8. Arcangelo Merla
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Correspondence to Arcangelo Merla.

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Mariotti, A., Grossi, G., Amerio, P. et al. Finger Thermoregulatory Model Assessing Functional Impairment in Raynaud’s Phenomenon. Ann Biomed Eng 37, 2631–2639 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-009-9788-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-009-9788-9

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