Originally used in the medical field for radiation-free mammograms, thermography is now gaining use for organ-specific disease diagnosis by detecting heat patterns and blood flow in body tissues. Infrared technology measures heat from inflammation long before it manifests as a disease. Thermography, long used in traditional Chinese medicine, is finding new applications in many medical fields.
History
Following the ancient practice of watching patterns of drying mud on patients’ bodies, the great Greek physician Hippocrates stated “In whatever part of the body excess of heat or cold is felt, the disease is there to be discovered.” This early concept expanded and developed over the centuries, first in 1800 due to Sir William Hershel’s discovery of a new spectrum of invisible light, which he called infrared or “below the red.”Modern thermometry began soon after, in 1835, with the invention of a thermo-electrical device that measured the temperature in various body areas to detect inflammation. Then, in 1929, came the invention of the infrared-sensitive (night vision) electronic camera, initially used for anti-aircraft defense in Britain.
