Thermistor Recording of Forehead Skin Temperature as an Index of Carotid Artery Disease

Abstract

Skin temperatures were recorded from the medial upper orbital area and above the nasal, mid and lateral portions of the brows in normal subjects and in patients with suspected cerebrovascular disease. Temperatures were reduced across the brow in patients with external carotid artery disease. Temperatures were lower than normal in the orbit in patients with internal carotid artery disease except when the internal carotid circulation was severely compromised. In such patients the supraorbital temperature was higher than normal, suggesting significant reversed flow via the supraorbital artery. With internal carotid occlusion, lateral brow temperatures suggested increases in external carotid flow. The interpretation of results was more reliable when temperatures were compared to normal values than when they were judged as differences between the two sides as is done in thermography.