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(Stroke. 1973;4:57.)
© 1973 American Heart Association, Inc.

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Detecting Carotid Occlusive Disease by Thermography

T. D. CAPISTRANT M.D.¹ R. J. GUMNIT M.D.¹

¹ Departments of Neurology of the St. Paul-Ramsey Hospital and the University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, 55101

The ability of facial thermography to detect disease in the internal carotid artery was evaluated. Unilateral forehead cooling of 0.7°C or greater was observed in 57% of 30 cases with angiographically proved stenosis. Two provocative tests, facial cooling and a head clamp, increased the sensitivity rate to 83% The greatest overall sensitivity and specificity was obtained by using a head clamp especially designed to bilaterally occlude superficial temporal arteries. Facial thermography is a useful screening device in detecting carotid occlusive disease. However, the necessity to use a provocative test to increase the sensitivity to acceptable levels will probably limit its use to the screening of high-risk asymptomatic patients. It does not appear to be economically feasible in the mass screening of healthy individuals.

Key Words: temporal arteries • stenosis • angiography • screening tests • cerebral blood flow • head clamp

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