Thermography

Inflammation is the precursor to many cancers and other degenerative diseases such as arthritis, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and high blood pressure. Early detection of inflammation using Thermography may help prevent many negative health conditions from developing.

Thermography specializes in:

• Breast Imaging
• Pain Diagnostics
• Early-Stage Disease Detection

Thermography can also:

• Visualize pain and pathology
• Assess pain and pathology anywhere in the body
• Is a very useful adjunctive procedure to other diagnostic tools, such as X-rays, bone scans, and ultrasound
• Is very cost-effective, and risk-free as it uses no harmful radiation and provides you with instant images.
• Fills in the gap in clinical diagnosis

X-rays, CT scans, Ultrasound, and MRI scans are all tests of ‘anatomy’ that are assessing the structure of the body – thermography on the other hand is unique in that it measures physiological changes and functioning of the body, not only structural issues.

Early Detection of Heart Disease

Thermography also plays an important role in heart disease prevention as it can assess heart functioning and detect inflammation in the carotid arteries which may be a precursor to stroke and blood clots. Early detection of heart problems can save your life!

Other Uses of Thermography

Thermography can also be used in many other areas of health:

• Arthritis – can help in its early detection and can differentiate between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
• Neck and Back Problems – pain and joint degeneration appear very clearly on thermography scans and help to identify the source of the pain in the body
• Dental Issues – thermography can also detect TMJ, gum disease, infected teeth, NICOs, and other dental issues that are precursors to many other serious diseases.
• Sinusitis and Headaches – there is often a relationship between headaches and sinusitis – the thermography scan will show this very clearly.
• Immune Dysfunction, Chronic Fatigue, and Fibromyalgia – when there is inflammation detected by thermography in the Thoracic spine areas of T1 and T2 this correlates well with immune system dysfunction.
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – This is an often misdiagnosed condition – thermography can help to identify the source of the pain which may be from the cervical spine
• Digestive Disorders – thermography can often see IBS, diverticulitis, and Crohn’s Disease and correlate these with other inflammatory issues in the body.

Other Health Issues – these would include bursitis, herniated discs, ligament and muscle tear, lupus, nerve problems, whiplash, cancer, and many others.

Other Interesting Points About Thermography

Joseph Bronzino mentions in his book entitled “Medical Devices and Systems” the following points about Thermography:

• In 1982, the FDA approved breast thermography as an adjunctive breast cancer screening procedure.
• Breast thermography has undergone extensive research since the late 1950s.
• Over 30 years of research comprising over 800 peer-reviewed studies on breast thermography exist in the index-medicus literature.
• In this database, well over 300,000 women have been included as study participants.
• The numbers of participants in many studies are very large – 10K, 37K, 60K, 85K …
• Some of these studies have followed patients for up to 12 years.
• Strict standardized interpretation protocols have been established for over 15 years.
• Breast thermography has an average sensitivity and specificity of 90%.
• An abnormal thermogram is 10 times more significant as a future risk indicator for breast cancer than a first-order family history of the disease.
• A persistent abnormal thermogram carries with it a 22x higher risk of future breast cancer.
• An abnormal infrared image is the single most important marker of high risk for developing breast cancer.
• Breast thermography has the ability to detect the first signs that cancer may be forming up to 10 years before any other procedure can detect it.
• Research has shown that breast thermography significantly augments the long-term survival rates of its recipients by as much as 61%.

When used as part of a multimodal approach (clinical examination + mammography + thermography) 95% of early-stage cancers will be detected.

Thermography – is a non-invasive, diagnostic imaging procedure involving the detection and recording of cutaneous thermal patterns using instruments that can provide visual and quantitative documentation of these temperature measurements. Because thermography detects pathophysiologic changes in cutaneous temperature, it may be used as an integral part of the physical examination or, alternatively, as an adjunct to that examination.

Blood flow allows core temperature to come to the surface or not, and will change the temperature of the skin territorially. Each area of the body has a particular cutaneous-cordal connection by the sympathetic nervous system. The alteration of the thermal content of a territory occurs based upon alterations of this nervous control. Only the dermal blood flow changes explain the heat seen on the surface of the body.

The heat of a muscle, joint, or bone is not conducted to the dermal tissues and cannot influence the dermal temperature recorded by thermography. Conduction of heat from the deeper portions of the body to the surface does not occur or create changes in the surface temperature. However, there are neurochemical processes in the dermis that can block the normal sympathetic control of blood flow in the skin, such as histamines, prostaglandins, and myovascular receptor inhibitors of mast cells. These, however, can be easily differentiated from neural control by clinical correlation.

Areas of the surface of the body are recorded as symmetrical. The frontal areas, the thumbs, the great toes, the knees, the buttocks, and the posterior shoulders should be contra laterally symmetrical and isothermic. If there is a difference, it is described as a delta T and means simply the difference in temperature. In order to interpret thermographic patterns, one must know the normal pattern. The normal pattern of the skin surface is symmetrical, and it is thought that the 95 percentile range in the normal subject deviates less than 0.3° C. Uematsu and others have established the normal patterns of the human surface temperature.

Relationships of various areas from one to another must be learned. The hands are usually colder than the shoulders. The buttocks and the feet are the coldest in the lower body, followed by the anterior knees. The thenar side of a given hand is usually warmer than the hypothenar, and the fingers are cooler than the palm.

It has been shown that the surface temperature of the human body is symmetrical. It is a reflection of blood flow in the dermal microcirculation, and the control of this microcirculation is autonomic and specifically, sympathetic. The major basis of clinical thermography is the correlation of temperature recordings with various conditions from disease and injury as it relates to autonomic function.

Conclusion

Thermography is an innovative diagnostic tool that offers several advantages in the detection and monitoring of breast cancer and various other health conditions. Its non-invasive nature, early detection capabilities, high sensitivity, and suitability for all ages make it a valuable complement to traditional imaging techniques. By visualizing temperature patterns and variations, thermography provides healthcare professionals with important insights for timely intervention, personalized treatment planning, and ongoing monitoring. As research continues to advance, thermography holds promise for improving early detection rates, enhancing patient outcomes, and expanding its applications in the field of medical diagnostics.

Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging (DITI) is practiced at the Da Vinci Holistic Health Centre in Larnaca. Images of the appropriate areas of the body are taken and sent to a team of specialist M.D. Thermologists in the USA. The images are analyzed and a full report is written and returned to the patient.

The Da Vinci Holistic Health Centre has been approved by the American College of Clinical Thermlogy (ACCT).

Dr. Georgiou is a member of the American College of Clinical Thermology and a Certified Thermographer, a naturopath and has a Doctor of Science in Alternative Medicine.

FURTHER READING:

What is Breast Thermography?

Breast Screening Procedure

Thermography Screening for SARS

VIDEOS TO WATCH:

Advantages of Breast Thermography

Dr Mercola Talks About Mammograms

Seeing Is Believing!

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