Imagine Health Thermography is a mobile thermography service located in upstate NY. Certified thermographers with certified MD interpreting images Yes.
Why choose to have thermograph? Thermography can reveal a wide range of health concerns and can provide early detection and possible diagnoses for many diseases and ailments as well as monitor therapy progress for conditions and injuries, including back injuries, arthritis, headaches, unexplained pain, Fibromyalgia, dental and TMJ, stroke screening, skin cancer, hormonal imbalances, Carpal Tunnel
Syndrome, Referred Pain Syndrome, whiplash, inflammatory pain, and many more. What parts of the body can be imaged? Thermal images are taken of the whole body, or individual regions including the breasts, head, arms, hands, legs, feet, torso, etc. Can Thermography “detect” inflammation? It is now known that inflammation is the precursor to many diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, etc. Early detection of inflammation can help in the prevention of many unhealthy conditions. Thermography creates a digital map of your body depicting thermal patterns or your unique “thermal rainbow"
. A trained medical specialist can then analyze your image or “thermogram” for abnormalities that may indicate signs of disease and/or developing pathology. Visualizing inflammation with thermography is a pro-active, defensive approach towards significantly improving your health. What makes thermography different than other screening tools? While mammography, ultrasound, MRI, and other structural imaging tools rely primarily on finding the physical tumor, Thermography is based on detecting the heat produced by increased blood vessel circulation and metabolic changes associated with a tumor’s genesis and growth (Angioneogenesis). By detecting minute variations in normal blood vessel activity, infrared imaging may find thermal signs suggesting a pre-cancerous state of the breast or the presence of an early tumor that is not yet large enough to be detected by physical examination, mammography, or other types of structural imaging. Also, difficulties in reading mammograms can occur in women who are on hormone replacement, nursing or have fibrocystic, large, dense, or enhanced breasts. These types of breast differences do not cause difficulties in reading digital infrared scans. How is Thermography of the breasts helpful? Thermography looks for thermal changes in the breast tissue. The average cancer takes up to 8-10 years to become large enough to be visible on a mammogram, typically at 3mm (the size of a pea), and inflammatory cancers do not show on a mammogram. Active cancers begin creating a blood supply at about 1/5mm (the size of a pinhead). Thermal imaging looks for the signs of developing blood supply, as well as inflammation (excess heat) in the breast tissue. Why do I need to return in 3 months for another breast study? The most accurate result we can produce is change over time. Before we can start to evaluate any changes, we need to establish an accurate and stable baseline for you. This baseline represents your unique thermal fingerprint, which will only be altered by developing pathology. A baseline cannot be established with only one study, as we would not know if this is your normal pattern or if it is actually changing at the time of the first exam. By comparing two studies 3 months apart we are able to judge if your breast physiology is stable and suitable to be used as your normal baseline and is safe for continued annual screening. The reason a 90 day interval is used relates to the period of time it takes for blood vessels to show change in relation to the cell division of abnormal cells. A period of less than 3 months may miss significant change, and a period of much more than 3 months may miss significant change that has already taken place. There is NO substitute for establishing an accurate baseline. A single study cannot do this. Did you know that 23% of all breast cancers occur in women under 49? Did you know that when a typical breast cancer is found, it is news to your brain, but may have been developing for more than 8-10 years before it is found by mammography? Breast cancers in younger women are usually more aggressive and have poorer survival rates. Breast thermography offers younger women a valuable imaging tool that they can add to their regular breast health check-ups beginning with baseline imaging at age 20. Thermogram infrared equipment has been cleared by the FDA. Thermography is not a stand-alone evaluation tool for diagnosing cancer (nor is mammography). What are the thermal imaging guidelines for breast evaluation? Age 20: Initial Baseline Thermogram
Age 20-29: Thermogram every 3 years
Age 30 and over: Thermogram annually
High Risk Clients: As frequently as needed
Does insurance cover Thermography? Because Thermography is a screening tool and not a diagnostic test, most insurance companies will not cover the cost of the scan. There are several companies however, that do cover Thermography and we will provide you with the billing code information that you will need to submit with your claim for reimbursement (if covered).
