Time, patient volume, and previously undiagnosed states all contribute to making the initial patient examination difficult for a dedicated physician. Thus, thermal imaging with an infrared camera can be an effective and objective way to obtain valuable physiological information that may be of value. It is completely non-contact, with no radiation or penetrating forces directed into the body.
Thermal imaging testing facilitates early diagnosis and successful treatment plans. This can help avoid the need for more invasive tests that can be painful, stressful or even dangerous, as well as procedures that can prolong recovery.
Scanning children and pregnant mothers is an excellent example of value with a thermal imager. At the Department of Pediatric Surgery at the Medical University in Graz, Austria, “IRT (Infrared Thermal Imaging) was recognized as an excellent non-invasive tool in monitoring hemangiomas, vascular malformations and discharge amputations associated with reimplantation, burns, and the growth of skin and blood vessels after biomaterial implantation in newborns with gastrosis and giant omphalotseles. In the emergency room, it was a valuable tool for the rapid diagnosis of limb thrombosis, varicocele, inflammation, abscesses, gangrene and wound infections. ”
With the future mother, the thermal image does not pose a risk to the child, especially if the mother complains of other health conditions or has problems with low backs. The University of Michigan, Ob-Gin Department in the mid-1990s, conducted a study with an infrared thermal imager to assess premature rupture of fetal membranes. He showed potential for a sensitive clinical indicator of chorioamniotic infection. This is an ideal test to provide the doctor with additional information that can be used to better treat the mother.
Thermal imaging has applications in breast oncology, neurology, integrative medicine, plastic surgery, dentistry, orthopedics, acupuncture, professional medicine, pain treatment, vascular medicine, cardiology, and veterinary medicine. New developments are being developed, including sleep studies and stress studies.
One of the controversial uses was for breast screening. Of some notes, it should be noted that invasive breast cancer in the early stages shows a small structural anomaly (thus avoiding the routine structural pattern recognition). Rather, it is often detected by a qualified technician, using their hands to estimate the temperature difference between the chest and the side. Unfortunately, a poorly conducted US study by the National Cancer Institute in the late 1970s with untrained doctors and cumbersome early heat chambers spoiled the prospects for widespread use in this area. Emphasis was placed on mammography.
Despite early supporters of the test, it was only in the late 1990s, with the improved efficiency and sensitivity of infrared imaging cameras, the viability of thermal imaging for breast evaluation became known. More recently, the New York Presbyterian Hospital, Cornell, New York, found that the infrared thermal image is "a valuable addition to mammography and ultrasound, especially in women with dense parenchyma of the breast." Although it is not a replacement for a mammogram, the non-irradiating aspect is certainly attractive. Also attractive is the level of ease of conducting the test with regular risk-free observation at a low price.
Since the thermal image is optional, it is not considered solely diagnostic. With respect to X-rays, it can complement structural information, which leads to more thorough verification. It also helps other visualization methods, allowing a more accurate set of views, rather than a generalized approach, thereby reducing exposure. At the Department of Neurosurgery at the Yongdong Hospital in Seoul, Korea, “areas of thermal changes in hernia of the cervix may be useful in diagnosing the level of protrusion of the disc and in identifying symptomatic levels in several patients with hernial cervical discs.
For example, some patients are not candidates for MRI, and therefore thermal imaging is an initial step with a low cost, especially when the symptoms are nonspecific or multifaceted. Its use in brain surgery at the University of Southern California is revolutionary. They identified the potential of thermal imaging to locate primary and metastatic brain tumors. Earlier work, published in 2002 by the Mayo Clinic, demonstrated that in intraoperative mode, infrared imaging "showed clear thermal traces of 14 of 16 brain tumors." He provided a "real-time assessment of cerebral vascular patency and cerebral perfusion."
Thermal imaging helps to verify patient progress through therapy and rehabilitation. Repetitive passive infrared images can be consistently compared. This can help determine whether new and unusual treatments and therapies are available, and show progress for the patient. The test can also indicate whether the change is temporary or more permanent. Due to the digital nature of infrared thermal imaging, actual operating costs are minimal, and prices for equipment for thermal imaging equipment have dropped significantly, starting with less than ten thousand US dollars. It is now a very affordable and vital tool for every clinic and hospital,
Just as the lost pyramids and cities of ancient Egypt were discovered recently with satellite infrared imaging, modern medical applications are discovered daily using the same technologies and thermal principles.
