The use of infra-red thermography in a rheumatology unit.

Infra-red thermography is a technique that is under-used in rheumatology; one reason is the supposed necessity for a temperature-controlled room in which to conduct tests. The results of a series of cold challenges to the hand, repeated on a normal subject in a temperature-controlled room and in other parts of a rheumatology ward, show very good reproducibility outside the temperature-controlled room, provided that the immediate environment is draught-free.