{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,23]],"date-time":"2026-07-23T07:08:00Z","timestamp":1784790480227,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,22]],"date-time":"2026-07-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784678400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol.","JFMK"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Infrared thermography (IRT) offers a non-invasive means to monitor skin temperature and physiological changes during rehabilitation. However, variability in image segmentation methods limits its broader clinical use. This study assessed the inter-rater reliability of a manual thermal image segmenatation protocol using FLIR Thermal Studio Pro\u2122 and presents a longitudinal single-case feasibility illustration evaluating the agreement between this manual method and automatic segmentation using ThermoHuman\u00ae. Methods: Two regions of interest (ROI) were analyzed throughout the study: the frontal knee and vastus medialis oblique (VMO). For the inter-rater reliability analysis, thermal images from 20 professional athletes were used. For the agreement analysis, 50 lower extremity thermal images were captured from a single athlete recovering from a meniscal repair over a four-month rehabilitation period. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC (2,1)) were used to assess agreement and reliability. Results: Inter-rater reliability was excellent for all frontal knee measurements (ICC (2,1) = 0.991, 0.995, and 0.964 for maximum, average, and minimum temperature, respectively) and for VMO maximum and average temperature (ICC (2,1) = 0.967 and 0.981, respectively), with VMO minimum temperature as the exception demonstrating good reliability (ICC (2,1) = 0.779). Excellent agreement was found between methods for all frontal knee (ICC (2,1) = 0.967, 0.949, and 0.985) and VMO measurements (ICC (2,1) = 0.971, 0.973, and 0.980) for maximum, average, and minimum temperature, respectively. Conclusion: Manual segmentation using FLIR Thermal Studio Pro\u2122 provides highly reliable results across multiple subjects, supporting its use as a practical and consistent clinical tool. Furthermore, our single-case feasibility illustration suggests it provides comparable results to automatic segmentation using ThermoHuman\u00ae, supporting its potential feasibility for accessible rehabilitation monitoring in injured athletes. Further multi-subject research is warranted to confirm the broader applicability of the agreement findings.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jfmk11030285","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,22]],"date-time":"2026-07-22T13:25:46Z","timestamp":1784726746000},"page":"285","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Manual vs. Automatic Segmentation in Infrared Thermography: Inter-Rater Reliability and a Longitudinal Single-Case Feasibility Illustration of Agreement for Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Monitoring"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-9492-434X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lorenzo","family":"Accurso","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health, Kinesiology, and Applied Physiology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H4B 1R6, Canada"},{"name":"Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal (CRIR), Montreal, QC H7V 1R2, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vincent","family":"Couturier","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health, Kinesiology, and Applied Physiology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H4B 1R6, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3665-9443","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tristan","family":"Castonguay","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health, Kinesiology, and Applied Physiology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H4B 1R6, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Julie","family":"Lamoureux","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health, Kinesiology, and Applied Physiology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H4B 1R6, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4817-1274","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Geoffrey","family":"Dover","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health, Kinesiology, and Applied Physiology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H4B 1R6, Canada"},{"name":"Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal (CRIR), Montreal, QC H7V 1R2, Canada"},{"name":"School of Health, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H4B 1R6, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"834","DOI":"10.1123\/jsr.2022-0390","article-title":"Infrared Thermography\u2014A Novel Tool for Monitoring Fracture Healing: A Critically Appraised Topic with Evidence-Based Recommendations for Clinical Practice","volume":"32","author":"Castonguay","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. 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