What?
Thermography, or digital infrared thermal imaging, is a non-invasive procedure that detects and records infrared heat emissions from the breast. It is based on the principle that chemical and blood vessel activity in both pre-cancerous tissue and the area surrounding a developing breast cancer is almost always higher than in the normal breast. Since pre-cancerous and cancerous masses are highly metabolic tissues, they need an abundant supply of nutrients to maintain their growth and this can increase the surface temperatures of the breast.
Thermal patterns on the skin are detected and mapped by the infrared sensor of the camera. Interpreted as temperature data, it is transmitted to a computer where all images are stored as pictures. By detecting thermal differences, thermal imaging offers the physician a diagnostic tool useful for detecting neurological, vascular and muscular diseases that x-rays are not capable of.
When?
Thermography is a diagnostic procedure that images the breasts to aid in early detection of breast cancer.
As infrared imaging can identify changes in local physiology and blood flow before other methods of screening are able to detect a problem, it is the test of choice for monitoring breast health and changes associated with breast disease. It is most valuable in detecting unusual thermal activities as they may be linked to infection, inflammation, fibrocystic disease or cancer.
How?
State-of-the-art breast thermography uses ultra-sensitive infrared cameras and sophisticated computers to detect, analyze, and produce high-resolution diagnostic images of these temperature and vascular changes. The procedure is both comfortable and safe using no radiation or compression.
An initial set of images are taken after acclimatization to a stable room environment. The series is then repeated after a “cold stress”, which is done by placing your hands in cold water. A cold stress is necessary to differentiate normal from abnormal breast blood flow. This test helps to provide essential information for the physician making the evaluation.
By carefully examining changes in the temperature and blood vessels of the breasts, signs of possible cancer or pre-cancerous cell growth may be detected up to 10 years prior to being discovered using any other procedure. This provides for the earliest detection of cancer possible. Because of breast thermography's extreme sensitivity, these temperature variations and vascular changes may be among the earliest signs of breast cancer and/or a pre-cancerous state of the breast.
FAQ
Who are suitable candidates for thermography?
As this is an ideal screening test for early detection of changes in breast health, thermal imaging can be done on women of any age. With the dense breast tissue of women under 40, it is ideal for differentiating fibrocystic disease from possible active or developing tumors. Thermal imaging detects the increased metabolic heat associated with increased vascularity of most suspicious growths, and can sense the ‘thermal signal’ – often years in advance of a mass detected on x-ray. It has been approved by the United States FDA for breast cancer screening.
How effective is thermography
Thermal imaging is an adjunctive exam that provides a more comprehensive picture to your on-going monitoring of breast health. Monthly self-exam, annual physician exam, yearly thermal imaging and mammography when indicated, increase the effectiveness of early cancer detection to greater than 95%.