Thermography

Holistic Family Health provides Thermography at our Herndon clinic, located near the Northern Virginia areas of Sterling, Leesburg, Winchester, Fairfax, Chantilly, Reston, South Riding, Lansdowne, and Centreville.

Thermography also known as Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging (DITI) is a noninvasive, no contact or radiation, clinical imaging procedure showing the thermal abnormalities present in the bodies of children, men and women:

• To help in determining the cause of pain

• To aid in the early detection of disease and pathology

• To evaluate sensory-nerve irritation or significant soft tissue injury

• To define a previously diagnosed injury or condition

• To identify an abnormal area for further diagnostic testing

• To follow progress of healing and rehabilitation

DITI has been recognized as a viable diagnostic tool since 1987 by the AMA Council on Scientific Affairs, the ACA Council on Diagnostic Imaging, the Congress of Neuro-Surgeons in 1988 and in 1990 by the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. DITI was FDA approved in 1982 and aids in the diagnosis and prognosis, as well as monitoring therapy progress, for conditions and injuries, including:

And many more conditions! Take a look at a few examples below:

“Thermography of the body gave me a better insight as to my chronic pain...” - P.A.H., October 2017

Medical DITI can graphically display the very subjunctive feeling of pain by objectively displaying the changes in skin surface temperature that accompany pain states.

DITI is a noninvasive diagnostic technique that allows the examiner to visualize and quantify changes in skin surface temperature. An infrared scanning device is used to convert infrared radiation emitted from the skin surface into electrical impulses that are visualized in color on a monitor. These visual images graphically maps the body’s temperature and is referred to as a thermogram. The spectrum of colors indicates an increase or decrease in the amount of infrared radiation being emitted from the body’s surface. Since there is a high degree of thermal symmetry in the normal body, subtle abnormal temperature asymmetries can be easily identified.

There are many tests of anatomy, such as x-ray, CT, ultrasound and MRI. Thermography is unique in its capability to show physiological change and metabolic processes. It has also proven to be a useful complementary procedure to other diagnostic modalities. Thermography is certainly an adjunct to the appropriate usage of mammography and not a competitor. In fact, thermography has the ability to identify patients at the highest risk and actually increase the effective usage of mammography imaging procedures.

By performing thermography years before conventional mammography, a selected patient population at risk can be monitored more carefully. Then by accurately utilize mammography or ultrasound as soon as possible to detect the actual lesion (once it has grown large and dense enough to be seen on mammography film) can increase treatment options and ultimately improve the outcome. Thermography offers the opportunity to detect breast disease, without radiation or contact, 5-8 years earlier than has been possible through breast self examination, doctor examination or mammography alone. DITI detects the subtle physiologic changes that accompany breast pathology whether it is cancer, fibrocystic disease, an infection or a vascular disease. It is one of the only medical procedures to detect inflammation breast cancer. Thermography, as a physiological test, demonstrates heat patterns that are strongly indicative of breast abnormalities. Once abnormal heat patterns are detected in the breast, follow up procedures including mammography are necessary to rule out or properly diagnose cancer and a host of other breast diseases.

All women can benefit from DITI breast screening. However, it is especially appropriate for younger women (30-50) whose denser breast tissue makes it more difficult for mammography to be effective. Also for women of all ages who, for many reasons, are unable to undergo routine mammography. This scan can provide a ‘clinical marker’ to the doctor or mammographer that a specific area of the breast needs particularly close examination. It takes years for a tumor to grow, thus the earliest possible indication of abnormality is needed to allow for the earliest possible treatment and intervention. DITI’s role in monitoring breast health is to help in early detection and monitoring of abnormal physiology.

Thermograms can be taken of the whole body or just areas being investigated. Our office offers the following thermography scans:

Call (703) 635-6324 today to schedule your appointment.

Would you like to read more about Thermography? Here is an informative article we wrote, What is Thermography?

Thermography can offer considerable financial savings by avoiding the need for more uncharted, expensive investigation for many patients.

-Meditherm & ACCN

Before Your Appointment

After you have made your appointment by calling 703-635-6324, please fill out the appropriate online form:

Initial Thermography Form for Women

Initial Thermography Form for Men

There are a few guidelines to prepare for your thermography scan:

• Do not have physical therapy, a massage or electromyography on the day of your scan.

• Do not smoke for 2 hours before your scan.

• Do not use lotion, deodorants or liniments on the day of your scan.

• Stay out of strong sunlight on the day of scan.

There are no dietary or medication restrictions on the day of your scan.

All packages are non-refundable. If you cancel with less than 48 hours’ notice, there is a $100 cancellation fee.

During Your Appointment

You will remove all jewelry and clothes from the part of the body being scanned and will be asked to wear a medical gown (for full body scans, underwear is left on). Once you are ready, the Certified Clinical Thermographer comes back in the room and takes your necessary images by utilizing a computer and positioning the mobile camera, which never comes in contact with your body, while directing the standard positions you will be in while sitting and standing. An example of a standard position is sitting on a chair with your arms by your side. We see many patients who have regular trouble sitting and/or standing. We do our best to accommodate.

After Your Appointment

All thermography interpretations will be reported by adequately trained and experienced doctors (MDs) who hold board certification as Thermologists. After your thermography scan, your thermograms and intake information is electronically sent to a Thermologist for interpretation and reporting. They have 2 business days to electronically return the report to our office. Our office will then email you and your doctor, if you provided their email on your intake form, your report and thermograms in PDF format within 1 business day.

Results obtained with medical DITI systems are objective and show excellent correlation with other diagnostic tests.

All of your thermograms are kept on record for 7 years and once your stable thermal pattern has been established any changes can be detected during your routine annual studies.

When should I come back?

A subsequent session assures that the patterns remain unchanged. If you are a female and this was your first scan then you should come back in three months for just a breast scan to establish an accurate and stable baseline. Everyone else should come back annually, unless specified by a Thermologist.

Why do I need to come back in 3 months exactly?

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 blueprint, which will only be altered by developing pathology. A baseline cannot be established with only one study, as we would have no way of knowing if this is your normal pattern or if it is actually changing at the time of the first scan. By comparing two studies three months apart we are able to judge if your breast physiology is stable and suitable to be used as your normal baseline and safe for continued annual screening.

The reason a three-month interval is used relates to the period of time it takes for blood vessels to show change. A period of time less than three months may miss significant change. A period of time much more than three months can miss significant change that may have already taken place.

There is no substitute for establishing an accurate baseline.

Your initial scan is only being compared to what a normal body's thermal symmetries should be. Your annual scan is being compared to what a normal body's thermal symmetries should be, your past scans, and your accurately establish baseline created by your 3 month follow up.

In simpler terms, this is to make sure there are no rapid changes even if there wasn't anything of concern in your initial scan. If there are no rapid changes then your stable baseline has been established and we will see you in a year (from your initial scan)!

-Meditherm

Call (703)635-6324 today to schedule your appointment.