Thermal Imaging Developments for Respiratory Airflow Measurement To
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Thermal imaging developments for respiratory airflow measurement to diagnose apnoea USMAN, Muhammad Available from Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive (SHURA) at: http://shura.shu.ac.uk/24803/ This document is the author deposited version. You are advised to consult the publisher's version if you wish to cite from it. Published version USMAN, Muhammad (2018). Thermal imaging developments for respiratory airflow measurement to diagnose apnoea. Masters, Sheffield Hallam University. Copyright and re-use policy See http://shura.shu.ac.uk/information.html Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive http://shura.shu.ac.uk Thermal Imaging Developments for Respiratory Airflow Measurement to Diagnose Apnoea Muhammad Usman A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Sheffield Hallam University for the degree of Master of Philosophy Materials and Engineering Research Institute November 2018 I DECLARATION This is to certify that I am responsible for the work submitted in the thesis, that the original work is my own except the acknowledgements, and that neither the thesis nor the original work contained therein has been submitted to this or any other institution for a higher degree. Signed: Name: Muhammad Usman Date: 19/11/2018 II Abstract Sleep-disordered breathing is a sleep disorder that manifests itself as intermittent pauses (apnoeas) in breathing during sleep. The condition disturbs the sleep and can results in a variety of health problems. Its diagnosis is complex and involves multiple sensors attached to the person to measure electroencephalogram (EEG), electrocardiogram (ECG), blood oxygen saturation (pulse oximetry, Sp 푂2 ) and multiple sensors to record breathing. The current gold standard sensors to diagnose apnoeas require a combination of nasal pressure sensors, nasal airflow sensors and thoraco-abdominal bands. The nasal prongs, directly measures respiratory nasal pressure flow by being inserted into the nares of the nose. Alongside this sensor, the nasal thermistor monitors airflow and the chest and abdominal wall movements are measured by respiratory inductance bands. All of these sensors are required to accurately detect respiratory apnoeas. Unfortunately, the two nasal sensors are poorly tolerated by children and thus clinicians rely on thoracic and abdominal movement detection bands alone to detect respiratory events. Therefore there is a need for a new accurate method of measuring respiratory airflow and nasal pressure. Respiration results in an increase in temperature of skin surface during exhalation and a reduction in its temperature during inhalation. In this study thermal imaging was employed and further evaluated to record these temperature differences and from it measure respiratory airflow to assist with apnoea diagnosis. A problem associated with using thermal imaging for respiratory airflow measurement is dealing with head and body movements during the recordings. As part of dealing with this problem two tracking methods were adapted and their effectiveness compared. The first was based on template matching. However the method proved ineffective as regions with similar temperature pattern as the respiratory region of interest (ROI, nostril region) that acted as the template were found in other parts of the face. Therefore the conventional template matching method was developed in a novel manner to track the ROI in two successive stages. First a larger region covering the nose and mouth acted as the template. Then the identified regions were processed again with a new template that only covered the nostril region. The method successfully tracked the required ROI. The performance of the improved template matching method was compared with another tracking method called the Kanade-Lucas-Tomasi tracking. This is a well-known feature tracker that proved robust in several applications. The respiratory signals obtained using thermal imaging utilising both tracking algorithms were compared with the existing contact methods that consisted of nasal pressure sensors, thermistor and thoracic and abdominal bands. The comparison was based on the recordings from 11 healthy adult volunteers recorded in four breathing scenarios as well as three children that were undergoing investigation for sleep-disordered breathing in the sleep laboratory of a local children's hospital. For the 11 volunteers there were a total of 88 respiratory events. Out of these in 63 cases the results of thermal imaging matched the standard sensor in place. In 9 cases the results of thermal imaging partially matched with the standard sensors in place while 15 cases were found where the ROI was not available. One hypopnoea event was not picked by thermal imaging. The thermal imaging successfully represented the respiratory signal and detected apnoea events in the patients recorded at hospital. III The study successfully demonstrated the efficacy of thermal imaging for respiratory airflow measurement and thus the work can be of importance for detecting apnoea and hypopnoea. IV Acknowledgements In the name of Allah, the most beneficent and the most merciful All praises to Allah for all the strength and mercy, He has bestowed upon me in completing this thesis. My special respect and appreciation goes to my Doctor of Studies and supervisor Professor Reza Saatchi, for his guidance and continuous support throughout this research. His invaluable help of constructive comments and recommendations throughout the study have immense contribution towards the success of this research. My equal appreciation goes to my co-supervisors Professor Heather Elphick, Dr Ruth Kingshott and Professor Derek Burke. I am grateful to the staff at Sheffield Children's Hospital Sleep Laboratory for their great assistance and support throughout the study. The work would not have been possible without the kind participations of the adult volunteers and patients who took part in the studies reported in this thesis. I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to my brothers Muhammad Tahir, Muhammad Zahid and Sisters Tahira Naeem and Sumaira Rehman for their continuous support and prayers throughout my career. Without their encouragement it would not have been possible whatever I have achieved in life. Sincere thanks to all my friends for their kindness and moral support during my study. I would like to appreciate their efforts for putting smiles up on my face and I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to my friend Nimra Shahab for her continuous motivation and support whenever I needed it. Thanks to all of you for the friendship and memories. I would also like to thank all the members of staff in the Materials and Engineering Research Institute for their support. Most importantly, I will forever be grateful to my father, Mr. Abdul Rehman and mother Muhammad Bibi for their love, support, care and everything they have done for me. V Contents DECLARATION .......................................................................................................... II Abstract ..................................................................................................................... III Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... V List of Figures ............................................................................................................. X List of Tables ........................................................................................................... XIII List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................... XIV List of Symbols ....................................................................................................... XVI Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Purpose of Study .............................................................................................. 2 1.3 Aims and Objectives ......................................................................................... 4 1.3.1 Aim ............................................................................................................. 4 1.3.2 Objectives .................................................................................................. 4 1.4 Study's Contributions ........................................................................................ 4 1.5 Overview of the Following Chapters ................................................................. 6 Chapter 2: Literature Review............................................................................... 6 Chapter 3: Sleep Breathing Disorders (SBD). ..................................................... 6 Chapter 4: Thermal Imaging and Image and Signal Processing Techniques. ..... 6 Chapter 5: Methodology. ..................................................................................... 6 Chapter 6: Results and Discussions of Testing the Method on Adults. ............... 6 Chapter 7: Results and Discussions of Testing the Method on Paediatric Patients. .............................................................................................................. 6 Chapter 8: Conclusion and Further Work. ........................................................... 7 1.6 Summary .........................................................................................................