Medical Thermography

What is Medical Thermography?

Medical Thermography (DITI – Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging) is a non-invasive and non-contact diagnostic method that uses infrared cameras to capture and analyse the body’s thermal patterns and temperature distribution.

In medical thermography, a thermal camera detects and measures the infrared radiation emitted by the body’s surface. The symmetry of the image on both sides of the body is essential to us because a balanced bilateral body temperature distribution characterises a healthy body.  

Areas where we observe increased body temperature will show in red, and those with a reduced body temperature will show in blue.

What to expect during the test?

The test involves taking pictures of selected body parts using a specialised camera.

Before the examination, the patient uncovers a selected part of the body and, for several minutes (up to 10 minutes), acclimatises to the room’s conditions. Thanks to the measurement of the heat emitted by the human body, the test is non-invasive and painless. The advantage of the test is the lack of radiation that occurs in other diagnostic tests, for example, computed tomography.

Next, specialised software is used to process and analyse the images.

Where is medical thermography used?

Medical thermography has a wide range of applications and allows you to:

• Examine your skin.
• Assess the location of inflammation.
• Be helpful in the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease (deep vein disease, thrombosis, Raynaud’s syndrome).
• Assess the location of musculoskeletal injuries (muscle inflammation, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome).
• As a screening diagnosis for breast cancer.
• Assess scars, including caesarean section.
• It is a valuable test used in aesthetic medicine, cosmetology, plastic surgery and physiotherapy.

Medical thermography is very helpful in detecting changes that are not visible to the naked eye. In addition, it detects various conditions in which tissues have not yet been affected by disease. Such diagnostics at an early stage make it possible to prevent tissue changes and, if necessary, to quickly implement treatment.

Medical thermography in cosmetology and aesthetic medicine!

Medical thermography has been commonly used in plastic surgery but is also increasingly used in aesthetic medicine and cosmetology.

Let’s take a closer look at what we can check with it…

In patients after fractional ablation, in whom the treatment was performed with too much energy, as a consequence, capillary damage may occur. Ultimately, this may lead to a decrease in the intensity of circulation, and thus in the image, we will observe a reduced tissue temperature.

In the case of procedures involving the administration of various fillers, we can observe their migration within the face using medical thermography. Therefore, checking the facial temperature emission for symmetry of both sides before the fillers are administered is valuable. Thanks to this approach, we can adequately prepare the patient, for example, by appropriately selecting manual facial therapies or other treatments, which will reduce the risk of possible undesirable complications after this type of treatment.

Medical thermography can be used to monitor the effects of aesthetic procedures. By comparing the thermographic images before and after the procedure, we can assess changes in skin temperature and blood flow through the tissues, which may indicate the procedure’s effectiveness.

A fascinating case is a woman who has a caesarean section scar. The mobility and plasticity of this scar are essential. However, when dealing with a stiff scar, which has been perpetuated for years, it can contribute to the development of varicose veins in the lower limbs and the abdomen, hips or groin.

In the above case, oedema of the lower limbs, abdominal pain, and even defecation difficulties are also observed. In such cases, the key is mobilising the scar by releasing adhesions blocking blood flow. Medical thermography can help identify areas with impaired blood flow.

As you can see, medical thermography is increasingly used and is a valuable auxiliary examination in many areas, such as plastic surgery, aesthetic medicine, cosmetology or physiotherapy. To a large extent, it can contribute to reducing complications after aesthetic medicine treatments, the number of which is unfortunately growing.

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