Thermography

Thermography, also known as Digital Infrared Thermography Imaging (DITI), uses a specialized camera to detect heat coming off the body. This heat can be a signs of abnormal cell activity such as tumor cell activity, an infection or inflammation.

Thermography relies on heat detection and not density (mammograms and ultrasounds use density to detect tumors). Women with dense breasts, fibrocystic breasts or implants may have false positive results with mammograms and be sent for unnecessary biopsies. Using thermography in conjunction with mammograms can achieve a more accurate diagnosis without further biopsies.

“With thermography, a thermal imaging camera captures the amount of heat on the body’s surface. It’s then translated to a digital image seen immediately on a computer. Because it uses different colors to represent different amounts of heat—each color is different by half a degree—the resulting image looks a lot like a topographical map. Thermography is a non-invasive test—there’s no flattening of the breasts and the thermographer does not need to touch your breast to take the images.” Christiane Northrup, MD

Thermography can also be used for full or half body screenings for the purpose of early detection of illnesses and disease processes by detecting physiologic changes such as inflammation and lymphatic system congestion. Full or half body (upper or lower half) screenings can be useful to monitor back injuries, thyroid issues, sinus inflammation, inflammation in the liver or pancreas and arthritis.

“The primary reason that thermography tests are so beneficial is that they offer an earlier, more reliable way to detect abnormal cellular activities and suspected tumor growths compared to other tests like self-examinations.” Dr. Axe