STANDARD OF CARE
Other “forms of” thermography. ( Excerpts from AICT website, (International Academy of Clinical Thermography))
Over the last few years many questionable thermographic procedures have emerged. The most dangerous aspect of some of these procedures is that women are being told that this type of testing is breast thermography. Only thermal imaging systems that meet minimum accepted standards are adequate for proper thermographic imaging of the breast. Those who are using these other forms of equipment or procedures, and informing the public that it is adequate for thermographic breast imaging, are placing women at risk. These practitioners are also damaging the reputation of board certified clinical thermographers who are providing a quality service to the community.
Some of these procedures consist of using a single point hand-held sensor which is touched to the body in various places. The information is then read out on an analog meter, liquid crystal display, or sent to a computer for analysis. This is the loosest definition of thermography to be found. The errors in using this form of testing are numerous. For example, using single or multiple hand-held temperature probe measurements is similar to placing your eye directly on your television screen. You can make out a few points, even some colors, but what can you see? You need to back away and take thousands of smaller samples to get the whole picture. Modern clinical thermographic systems take tens of thousands of temperature samples in order to produce a quality image. Then with proper computer processing procedures a doctor can assess any area, perform quantitative vascular analysis, direct and differential temperature measurements, dynamic digital subtraction, and other forms of thermal assessments which are considered accepted procedures in the thermographic analysis of the breast.
There are also physical problems with any sensor that contacts the body. First of all, touching the surface of the body with anything that is not the exact temperature of the skin changes the actual temperature of the skin being analyzed (Zeroeth Law of Thermodynamics). Consequently, factual temperature data is lost in this process. Secondly, the act of touching the body elicits a neurophysiologic feedback response. This is especially true when certain sensitive areas, such as the nipples of the breast, are contacted. This feedback response has been shown to alter skin surface temperatures, thus changing the factual baseline temperature values.
This is just a small sample of the many problems involved with the use of these "other forms" of thermography. Please do not trust your health to anyone not using a thermal imaging system that meets minimum accepted standards under the guidance of a qualified board certified clinical thermographer or technician.