It is easy to become enthusiastic about Thermal Imaging for many great reasons including the fact that it is completely safe with no radiation and no painful compression. This article seeks to encourage you to use and understand the technology for all the right reasons and with a full understanding of why it’s such a great but underused technology.
Thermal Imaging is not the panacia of all imaging modalities and conditions. There is no panacia when it comes to assessing breast health! It is however a very safe, user friendly and effective test designed to be used in conjunction with other testing modalities when indicated. It’s capable of gaining a clearer understanding of the physiology associated with a breast condition. Abnormal physiology reflects abnormal temperature readings and graphic patterns to allow specialist thermologists to assess change over time. Of particular interest is the physiologic change that can takes place up to a decade before there is any change in the structure of the breast (e.g. lump, calcification etc.). These early changes cannot be felt by manual palpation or pictured on a mammographic slide.
Because of its advanced ability to read physiology, thermal imaging is particularly effective for assessing future risk of breast cancer in younger women because it is very sensitive to the extremely early temperature changes associated with breast disease and many years before an actual tumour can be found using the other imaging methods.
Younger and younger women are being reported with breast cancer. There are very few options available to younger women to monitor this hideous disease. X-ray Mammography is not particularly safe or effective for screening younger breasts as the breast tissue is very dense and the amount of radiation necessary for a clear reading is not acceptable under safe exposure guidelines.
Because thermal imaging can record the very early onset of physiologic change, regular screening from age twenty or so holds great promise for very early risk assessment and corrective, evasive action when using comparative studies over time.
This does not infer that Thermal Imaging is not suitable for older women, it most definitely is, but caution must be exercised because previously un-detected tumours in older women may have been growing for many years and been encapsulated by the bodies own defence mechanism, rendering them “Thermographically Silent” in a small percentage of cases. Any disturbance of this encapsulated mass may trigger spontaneous growth which has not been detected by previous imaging. A really good question here for the research people is “When is a thermographically silent lump safe?”. I doubt there is a definitive answer to that question yet.
The caution here is, “listen to your body”. Do not put complete faith in any one modality if you are at all suspicious of change. If something has changed since having your last image taken, no matter how recent or what modality you used, weigh up your options, avail yourself of the whole range of testing procedures available, to clarify your situation to your very own satisfaction.
We encourage all our clients to be fully informed about the positive capabilities, limitations, risks and safety of whatever modality you choose to use whether it be mammograms, ultrasound, palpation, MRI or thermal imaging, so that the best outcome can be gained for your good health.
More fascinating information and contacts at http://www.stimaging.com.au
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
How Does Thermal Imaging Work.
The camera of choice by Sunstate Thermal Imaging is specifically designed for thermal imaging of the human body in the clinic situation. The camera captures a thermal picture of body heat and displays the thermal patterns on a computer screen in the form of a digital image for analysis.
What happens is the cells of your body produce heat through their normal day to day activity. Abnormal and diseased cells usually produce much more heat in their early development and that is long before an anatomical marker, which can be seen by mammmography.
Before the onset of most abnormal growth, suspect cells will stimulate new blood vessels to grow, reopen unused blood vessels and maintain those blood vessels already in use.
Some of these diseases build extensive network of blood vessels in the area it will begin to grow. Some diseases need more blood flow than normal cells to support their rapid growth. Very simply, where there is more blood, there is more heat. Thermal Imaging examiners take particular note of these "hot spots" which can often be the earliest warning signs of sinister activity. This activity has been shown to begin many years before anatomical change, and before any warning signs can be given by other screening methods.
More information at http://www.stimaging.com.au/
What happens is the cells of your body produce heat through their normal day to day activity. Abnormal and diseased cells usually produce much more heat in their early development and that is long before an anatomical marker, which can be seen by mammmography.
Before the onset of most abnormal growth, suspect cells will stimulate new blood vessels to grow, reopen unused blood vessels and maintain those blood vessels already in use.
Some of these diseases build extensive network of blood vessels in the area it will begin to grow. Some diseases need more blood flow than normal cells to support their rapid growth. Very simply, where there is more blood, there is more heat. Thermal Imaging examiners take particular note of these "hot spots" which can often be the earliest warning signs of sinister activity. This activity has been shown to begin many years before anatomical change, and before any warning signs can be given by other screening methods.
More information at http://www.stimaging.com.au/
Sunday, June 21, 2009
User Friendly Breast Imaging.
All women can benefit from Breast Thermography using Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging (DITI). However it is especially appropriate for younger women (18 - 50) whose denser breast tissue makes it more difficult and potentially even more dangerous using mammography, because of the extremely high radiation dose necessary for mammography to be effective.
It is also appropriate for women of all ages who, for many reasons, are unable or not willing to undergo routine mammography screening. This imaging can provide a clinical marker to a health care professional that a specific area of the breast needs particular close and gentle examination.
It takes years for a tumour to grow to a point where it can be detected by mammography thus any modality that can indicate the earliest possible marker of abnormality is needed to facilitate the earliest possible treatment and/or intervention. DITI'S role in monitoring breast health is to help in early detection and monitoring of abnormal physiology.
DITI is the only imaging procedure capable of detecting abnormal breast physiology at a very early stage. This quick and easy imaging begins with your medical history being noted and, depending on which images are being taken, you may be required to partially disrobe for the scanning to take place. DITI cannot image through hair on the head or through clothing. DITI does not require any contact with your body at all. There is no compression of the breast and is therefore painless. There is no dangerous radiation being passed through your breasts.
More great information at http://www.stimaging.com.au/
It is also appropriate for women of all ages who, for many reasons, are unable or not willing to undergo routine mammography screening. This imaging can provide a clinical marker to a health care professional that a specific area of the breast needs particular close and gentle examination.
It takes years for a tumour to grow to a point where it can be detected by mammography thus any modality that can indicate the earliest possible marker of abnormality is needed to facilitate the earliest possible treatment and/or intervention. DITI'S role in monitoring breast health is to help in early detection and monitoring of abnormal physiology.
DITI is the only imaging procedure capable of detecting abnormal breast physiology at a very early stage. This quick and easy imaging begins with your medical history being noted and, depending on which images are being taken, you may be required to partially disrobe for the scanning to take place. DITI cannot image through hair on the head or through clothing. DITI does not require any contact with your body at all. There is no compression of the breast and is therefore painless. There is no dangerous radiation being passed through your breasts.
More great information at http://www.stimaging.com.au/
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