What is Medical Thermal Imaging (a.k.a. Thermography) ?
Thermography is the INFLAMMATION technology
Thermography - also referred to as Medical Thermal Imaging, Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging or DITI - is a non-invasive diagnostic technique that allows the examiner to visualize and quantify changes in skin surface temperature. A digital infrared camera is used to take pictures which convert the infrared radiation emitted from the surface of the skin into electrical impulses that are visualized in color on a monitor. This visual image graphically maps the body temperature and is referred to as a thermogram. The spectrum of colors indicates an increase or decrease in the amount of infrared radiation being emitted from the body surface. Since the body is very symmetrical with regard to temperature, subtle temperature asymmetry's can be easily identified.
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Thermography's
major clinical value is in its high sensitivity to pathology in the
vascular, muscular, neural and skeletal systems and as such can
contribute to the pathogenesis and diagnosis made by the clinician.
Thermography has been used for around the world for over 20 years. However, until recently,
cumbersome equipment has hampered its diagnostic and economic
viability. Current state of the art PC-based "digital infrared"
technology with digital cameras designed specifically for clinical
& medical applications has changed this.
Clinical uses for Thermography include:
Define the extent of a lesion of which a diagnosis has previously been made
Localize an abnormal area not previously identified so further diagnostic tests can be performed
Detect early lesions before they are clinically evident
Monitor the healing process before the patient is returned to work
Skin
blood flow is under the control of the sympathetic nervous system. In
normal people there is a symmetrical dermal pattern which is consistent
and reproducible for any individual. This is recorded in precise detail
with a temperature sensitivity of 0.01°C by DITI (Thermography).
The
neuro-thermography application of DITI measures the somatic component
of the sympathetic nervous system by assessing dermal blood flow. The
sympathetic nervous system is stimulated at the same anatomical
location as its sensory counterpart and produces a "somato sympathetic
response." The somato sympathetic response appears on DITI as a
localized area of altered temperature with specific features for each
anatomical lesion.
The mean temperature differential in
peripheral nerve injury is 1.5°C. In sympathetic dysfunctions
(RSD/SMP/CRPS) temperature differentials ranging from 1°C to 10°C
depending on severity are not uncommon. Rheumatologic processes
generally appear as "hot areas" with increased temperature patterns.
The pathology is generally an inflammatory process, i.e. synovitis of
joints and tendon sheaths, epicondylitis, capsular and muscle injuries,
etc.
Both hot and cold responses may coexist if the pain
associated with an inflammatory focus excites an increase in
sympathetic activity. Also, vascular conditions are readily
demonstrated by DITI including Raynauds, Vasculitis, Limb Ischemia,
DVT, etc.
Thermography is filling the gap in clinical diagnosis ...
X-ray, CT, Ultrasound, MRI, etc., are tests of anatomy
EMG is a test of motor physiology
DITI is unique in its capability to show physiological change and metabolic processes. It has also proven to be a very useful complementary procedure to other diagnostic modalities.
- Medical DITI can offer considerable financial savings by avoiding the need for more expensive investigations.
- Medical DITI can graphically display the very subjective feeling of pain by objectively displaying the changes in skin surface temperature that accompany pain states.
- Medical DITI can show a combined effect of the autonomic nervous system and the vascular system, down to capillary dysfunctions. The effects of these changes show as asymmetries in temperature distribution on the surface of the body.
- Medical DITI is a monitor of thermal abnormalities present in a number of diseases and physical injuries. It is used as an aid for diagnosis and prognosis, as well as therapy follow up and rehabilitation monitoring within clinical fields that include: Rheumatology, neurology, physiotherapy, sports medicine, oncology, pediatrics, orthopedics and many others.
- Results obtained with medical DITI systems are totally objective and show excellent correlation with other diagnostic tests.