What are Thermography Scans?

Thermography is a radiation free, state-of-the-art screening procedure that uses an infrared camera to measure the temperature difference of each breast or body parts to aid in the early detection of cancer. As a tumor grows, it develops a bigger (and hotter) blood supply. This vascularity is picked up as a heat signal and forms an image like the ones shown above. In these images the heat surrounding the nipple is in excess of normal levels and a function of the increased growth of blood vessels that are feeding an underlying tumor.

Breast Thermography allows women to monitor and address findings before they become a more serious issue, especially those in the 20-40 age group that has no standard testing. Thermography involves no contact or compression and was FDA cleared as an adjunctive screening procedure for breast cancer in 1982.

A 'Female Profile' exam will rate your estrogen expression. The balance of progesterone to estrogen is an important function of the female body and estrogen dominance is a condition that has been associated with breast cancer. The expression of estrogen can be seen on thermal images.

Full body scans for men and women are a valuable tool for preventative health monitoring to assist with the early detection and analysis of abnormal vascular activity, inflammation and pain throughout the body.

Early Detection is the Key

Breast tumors take up to 10 years to develop,

during this time traditional testing such as mammography, ultrasound, and even MRI may not detect the development as early as thermography. The earlier a tumor is found, the sooner treatment can begin and the more successful the outcome is likely to be. Since 10% of all breast cancers develop in women under the age of 40, thermography should be an important component of every woman’s breast health regime starting at age 20.

Breast Thermography Statistics

The Index Medicus, a comprehensive index of medical scientific journal articles, references more than 800 peer-reviewed breast thermography studies, in which over 250,000 women participated. Many of these studies involved very large groups of patients (from 37,000 to over 100,000) and some have followed patients for as much as 12 years. Among other conclusions, these studies found that:

• When thermography is added to a woman's regular breast health checkups, a 61% increased survival rate was realized, and when used as part of a multi-modal approach (clinical examination, mammography and thermography) 95% of early stage cancers will be detected.

• In a 2008 study published in the American Journal of Surgery, performed at New York Presbyterian Hospital Cornell, 58 of 60 tumors were properly identified as malignant yielding 97% sensitivity for thermography.

• An abnormal thermogram is 10 times more significant as a future risk indicator of breast cancer than a first order family history of the disease.

What is Medical Thermography?

The relationship between a change in body temperature and health status has been of interest to physicians since Hippocrates stated “should one part of the body be hotter or colder than the rest, then disease is present in that part”.

Thermography provides a visual display of the surface temperature of the skin. Skin temperature recorded by an IR scanner is the resultant balance of thermal transport within the tissues and transport to the environment. In medical applications, thermal images of the human skin contain a large amount of clinical information that can help in detecting numerous pathological conditions ranging from cancer to emotional disorders.

For the clinical assessment of cancer, physicians need to determine the activity of the tumor and location, extent, and response to therapy. All of these factors make it possible for tumors to be examined using thermography.

Advantages of using this method are that it is completely non-ionizing, safe, and can be repeated as often as required without exposing the patient to risk.

[excerpt from Medical Infrared Imaging, ch 14.2; edited by Nicholas A. Diakides & Joseph B. Bronzino]

Thermal Imaging for Breast Cancer

In the US, breast cancer is a national concern. There are 192,000 cases a year; it is estimated that there are 1 million women with undetected breast cancer; presently, the figure of women affected is 1.8 million; 45,000 women die per year. The cost burden of the US healthcare is estimated at $18 billion per year. The cost for early stage detection is $12,000 per patient and that for late detection is $345,000 per patient. Hence early detection would potentially save $12 billion dollars annually – as well as many lives.

As a result, the US Congress created “The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program for Breast Cancer” which defined ideal characteristics for an early breast cancer detection method as one that would: detects early lesions; is available to population (48 million US women ages 40 -70 years), has high sensitivity/high specificity (in all age groups), is inexpensive, noninvasive, has high quality assurance and decreases mortality. Thermal imaging meets all of these requirements. Since 1982, the FDA has approved infrared imaging (thermography) as an adjunct modality to mammography for breast cancer.

Breast cancer can take up to 10 years to develop. Thermography has been shown to identify cancer before it becomes a visible tumor on other standard tests. This is because thermography looks for the physiology feeding the tumor, while mammography looks for the tumor after it has formed a density. In some cases, thermography can detect abnormalities up to 10 years prior to it showing up on a mammogram. It is well known that early detection is the best defense against breast cancer , and if treated in the earliest stages, a 95% cure rate could be achieved. A 2008 Cornell study showed thermal imaging was 97% sensitive. This study was published by the American Academy of Breast Surgeons in the American Journal of Surgery.

Thermal Imaging for breast cancer is radiation free and involves no compression or contact so there is no risk of damage to implants or underlying breast tissue. We offer thermal imaging breast cancer screening at our lab certified by Breast Thermography International, a professional organization committed to advancing scientific standards of thermographic imaging using only the most advanced imaging technology available and Board Certified Interpreters.

What Age Should Women Start Their Screenings?

All women can benefit from thermal imaging, but it is imperative for women between the ages 20-40. Women in this age group have no standard testing and many do not find cancer until it is in Stage Three. Ten percent of all breast cancers develop in women under 40 (20,000 cases each year) and they are more likely to have an aggressive form. We recommend a scan post puberty, then starting at 20 every 2 years until 30, at which point yearly testing is recommended.

Additional Uses for Thermography

Full body thermal imaging for men and women is used as an affordable health screening for early detection and differential analysis of abnormal vascular activity, inflammation and pain throughout the body. A baseline is established for comparisons and future scans which are recommended to be done annually. We monitor changes and help prevent future health issues.

We also offer a female health profile exam which will rate your estrogen expression. The delicate balance of progesterone to estrogen is an important function of the female body. The expression of estrogen can be seen on thermal images. Estrogen Dominance is a condition that has been associated with breast cancer. Look at the images below of a hot flash. Both images were taken within 1 minute of each other.

Here are some other examples of areas where thermography may be helpful:

• Identify hot or cold areas for further diagnostic testing or treatment by your doctor

• Document an injury or condition

• Help in determining cause or origination of pain
  (such as neck or back pain or dental issues)

• Evaluate soft tissue injury or nerve pathology

• Monitor the progress of current treatments

• Experimental: detection of skin cancer (not FDA cleared but standard in other countries)

Worldwide Use of Thermography in Medicine

In the US & Canada, there are a number of multi-modality medical centers specializing in breast cancer research and treatment that use thermography routinely as part of their first line detection system, which also includes mammography and clinical exam. Two of these are EHH Breast Cancer and Treatment Center, Baton Rouge, Los Angeles and Ville Marie Oncology Research Center, Montreal, Canada. There are also several academic institutions with research initiatives in IR imaging: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has several ongoing programs: vascular disorders (diabetes, deep vein thrombosis); monitoring angiogenesis activity (growth of new blood vessels) – Kaposi sarcoma; pain reflex sympathetic dystrophy, monitoring the efficacy of radiation therapy; organ transplants. John Hopkins University does research in microcirculation; monitoring angiogenic activity in Kaposi sarcoma and breast screening and laparoscopic IR images – renal disease. University of Houston has recently created an IR imaging laboratory to investigate with IR the facial thermal characteristics for such applications as lie detections and behavioral issues (fatigue, anxiety, fear etc).

In Japan, thermal imaging is widely accepted by the government and medical community. More than 1500 hospitals and clinics use IR routinely. The government sets standards and reimburses clinical tests. Their focus is on the areas of blood perfusion, breast cancer, dermatology, pain, neurology, surgery (open heart, orthopedic, dental, cosmetic), sports medicine and oriental medicine. More than 450 IR systems are presently being used in hospitals and medical centers in Korea.

Many other countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Poland, China, Australia, Norway, South America and Russia use IR imaging and have ongoing research.