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Breast Thermography
Breast Thermography
Breast thermography is a radiation-free, touch-free, non-invasive imaging procedure that has been FDA 510k cleared since 1982 as an adjunctive screening tool to aid in the detection of breast cancer. The technology of thermography has been utilized for decades to detect physiological changes of the breasts at an early stage. It is safe for women of all ages and is equally effective for women with dense breast tissue. This is particularly important considering up to 60% of women have dense breasts. Research shows that mammography is effective in detecting breast cancer in women with non-dense breast tissue. However, the accuracy of mammography drops dramatically for women with dense tissue.
It benefits all woman, of any age to include breast thermography as an addition to a regular breast health care. Breast cancer is particularly aggressive in younger women. Statistics indicate that approximately 15% of all breast cancers occur in women under the age of forty-five. However, there are no clear guidelines for the use of imaging procedures during these years, or younger. With the addition of breast thermography, young women have a tool that can add to their regular breast health check-ups.
Breast thermography is based on the principle that blood vessel activity is almost always higher in pre-cancerous tissue and the area surrounding a developing breast cancer than in healthy tissue. Cancer cells have an ever-increasing need for nutrients. Neoangiogenesis is a phenomenon specific to cancer which permits the creation of new blood vessels to supply such nutrients and ensures the growth of cancer cells or a cancerous tumor. With the activity of new blood vessels, there is an increased blood flow that produces temperature variations within the breast that can be visualized by an infrared camera.
Breast thermography utilizes an ultra-sensitive, medical infrared camera and sophisticated computers to detect, analyze, and produce high-resolution images of skin temperature variations. These temperature variations may be among the earliest signs of breast changes or a pre-cancerous/cancerous state.
Current methods used to detect suspicious signs of breast cancer depend primarily on a combination of both physical examination and mammography. While this approach has become the mainstay of early breast cancer detection, more is needed. Since the prevention of breast cancer has not yet become a reality, every effort must be directed at detecting breast cancer at its earliest stage.
As such, the addition of thermography to the front line of early breast cancer detection brings a great deal of good news for all women. Thermography can also help fill the gap for younger women, especially those under the age of forty where currently there is no routine breast screening methods advised.