The intensity of the infrared radiation emitted by objects is mainly a function of their temperature. In infrared thermography, this feature is used for multiple purposes: as a health indicator in medical applications, as a sign of malfunction in mechanical and electrical maintenance or as an indicator of heat loss in buildings. This paper presents a review of infrared thermography especially focused on two applications: temperature measurement and non-destructive testing, two of the main fields where infrared thermography-based sensors are used. A general introduction to infrared thermography and the common procedures for temperature measurement and non-destructive testing are presented. Furthermore, developments in these fields and recent advances are reviewed.

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Infrared thermography for temperature measurement and non-destructive testing.

Eye temperature and heart rate variability of calves disbudded with or without local anaesthetic

Non-invasive measurement of stress in dairy cows using infrared thermography.

Infrared thermography (IRT) involves the precise measurement of infrared radiation which allows surface temperature to be determined according to simple physical laws. This review describes previous applications of IRT in studies of thermal physiology, veterinary diagnosis of disease or injury and population surveys on domestic and wild mammals. 2. IRT is a useful technique because it is non-invasive and measurements can be made at distances of 1000 m to count large mammals. Detailed measurements of surface temperature variation can be made where large numbers of temperature sensors would otherwise be required and where conventional solid sensors can give false readings on mammal coats. Studies need to take into account sources of error due to variation in emissivity, evaporative cooling and radiative heating of the coat. 3. Recent advances in thermal imaging technology have produced lightweight, portable systems that store digital images with high temperature and spatial resolution. For these reasons,therearemanyfurtheropportunitiesforIRTinstudiesofcaptiveandwildmammals.

A.L. Schaefer

Papers

Infrared thermography as a non-invasive tool to study animal welfare