Thermography

clinical thermography

FinalA Clinical thermography, otherwise known as infrared imaging, is based on a careful analysis of skin surface temperatures as a reflection of normal or abnormal human physiology. The procedure is commonly performed either by the direct application of liquid crystal plates to a part of the body, or via an ultra-sensitive medical infrared camera through a computer interface.

Each procedure interprets the thermal data and forms an image which can be evaluated for signs of possible disease or injury. Extensive research and investigation performed at prestigious medical teaching institutions such as Johns Hopkins University Medical School, have established normal values for the distribution of heat in each region of the body. Variation from these normal values are measured and correlated with suspected injuries or diseases in the same way a blood or urine laboratory study is interpreted.

Early Detection of Cancer

Almost fifty years of clinical use and more than 8,000 peer-reviewed studies in the medical literature have established thermography as a safe and effective means to examine the human body. It is completely non-invasive, and as such, does not require the use of radiation or other potentially harmful elements.

FinalB History

Use of thermography, or heat differentiation, to detect human ailments has been documented throughout medical literature over the centuries. As early as 400 B.C., physicians would place wet mud or clay over the body and where it dried first was considered to be the diseased part. Hippocrates is quoted as saying "should one part of the body be colder or hotter than the other, disease is present in that part."

Between 1592-1596, Galileo developed the first thermoscope in an attempt to correlate the relationships between body temperature and a patient's state of health. In 1840, Sir William Hirschel, King George III Royal Astronomer, developed the first recorded thermography using coloured filters in a large refracting telescope. He announced his findings in the "Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society in London, and called the invisible rays of the sun, infrared.

Use of infrared continued to be an investigative science until World War II and the Korean conflict. At this time it was developed by the United States military to monitor troop movements. While still classified, a group of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers took what is considered to be the first recorded thermogram of a human subject in 1954. The instrument utilized was a high-resolution infrared scanner, developed by the Barnes Engineering Company, and required approximately one hour of exposure time.

In 1956, Dr. Ray Lawson established the first known medical application for modern thermography. His first paper on the subject, also published in 1956, was entitled "Implications of Surface Temperature in the Diagnosis of Breast Cancer'. Research continued and in 1963, 28 papers on thermography were submitted to the New York Academy of Sciences.

Today, high speed, high resolution thermography can be produced by using liquid crystal and telethermographic units. Research concerning human applications has evolved at a rapid rate since the 1960s, and over 4,000 articles have been published in nearly all leading journals and periodicals.

The term Clinical Thermography was first coined by Dr. Chapman in 1978, in an effort to differentiate Medical Thermography as a stand alone diagnostic test and the use of clinical findings with Thermography to clarify a thermographic diagnosis, and direct the treatment course.

Medical research has shown thermography to be helpful in the diagnosis of many ailments, including:

Breast Cancer

Skin

Nervous System Disorders

Metabolic Disorders

Repetitive Strain Injuries

Headaches, Neck and Back Problems

TMJ Conditions

Arthritis

Soft Tissue Injuries