Breast Thermography

Utah Thermography, LLC is pleased to introduce you to the procedure of diagnostic thermology, the medical science of diagnostic thermal imaging. Because we strongly believe in your right to know and appreciate your participation in your own health care, we are providing this information about medical thermology. This may be especially important because thermology is not widely available and may be poorly understood by the public and even some physicians.

Thermology is a passive and functional type of study, unlike radiology (X-ray). This means thermology does NOT use any form of ionizing radiation (such as does X-ray) as it evaluates the features of activity and operations of distinct areas of the body. The equipment we use (an infrared thermograph camera) makes tens-of-thousands detailed measurements of skin temperature at a distance of five to eight feet. The images produced are really electronic data of absolute temperature measurements that can be viewed as an electronic image presenting a spectrum of colors that indicate increased or decreased levels of infrared radiation (heat) being emitted from the body's surface.

Currently, the most utilized breast cancer screening imaging techniques are ultrasound and mammography. Because they detect the presence of a physical mass, they are classified as anatomical tests. They are interpreted by radiologists.

Breast thermography detects patterns of heat produced from the increased circulation produced by abnormal metabolic activity in cancer cells. Thus, thermography is a physiological test that detects changes in the breast tissue that have been shown to correlate with the presence of cancer or pre-cancerous states. Our Thermograms are interpreted by a thermologist, Dr. Phil Hoekstra, an industry leader for over thirty-five years.