PHOTOPLETHYSMOMETRY AND THERMOGRAPHY IN RAYNAUD'S DISORDERS.

The purpose of tins study is to consider photoelectric plethysmometry (PEP) in the evaluation of Raynaud's Disorders. In a previous paper (1), we demonstrated the usefulness of thermography in similar conditions, but the cost of instrumentation was regarded as a deterrent to its widespread usefulness;. Historically, PEP has not been widely used medically, in spite of its apparent simplicity and low cost. Many of the problems were recognized early in the development of PEP, especially by Hertzmann (2). Frequent use has been made of the technique in psychology as has been reviewed by Weinman (3). Stimultaneous investigation of thermography and photoelectric plethysmometry has been reported by Wouda (4). In spite of a number of problems reviewed in the discussion which follows, it appears that the method shows sufficient promise to warrant further investigation. To suggest a more guarded attitude regarding the exact measurement recorded, the term plethylsmometry is used herein instead of a more usual, plethysmography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]