History of Thermography

• Thermal imaging was first used to observe battlefield troop movements at night, in the first half of the 20th century. Once the technology was declassified in the 1950's, Dr. Raymond Lawson a Canadian surgeon and tumor researcher saw another use for thermal imaging. He envisioned thermal imaging technology being utilized in the medical realm, specifically in breast tumor research. The first medical thermogram was taken in 1959, in Sweden, where the first thermography systems were produced. After over 10 years of research and experimentation, in 1972, the Swedish Department of Health Education and Welfare released a paper indicating that thermography was beyond the experimental stage in the following areas of diagnoses: Pathology of the female breast, Extra-cranial vessel disease, Peripheral Vascular Disease, and musculoskeletal injury.

The US Food and Drug Administration approved thermography in 1982, as an adjunctive screening procedure, for the purpose of supplementing mammography as well as other traditional screening methods. Thermography is now available in most industrialized countries, and is becoming more accessible to clinics, physicians, and patients who are becoming more aware of the value of this safe and effective screening procedure.

What is Medical Thermography? 

• Thermography is an imaging technique that uses specialized infrared cameras to take a picture of the breast or other soft tissues. The infrared camera can detect temperature patterns of heat emission from the skin surface to a depth of six (6) millimeters. Thermography is based upon physiological responses, which occur much earlier than anatomical masses. It is a non-contact, non-invasive procedure; with no risks or side effects. Thermal patterns are displayed on the skin and detected by the infrared sensor of the camera. The pattern is interpreted as temperature data, then transmitted to a computer where the images are stored as pictures.

Why should I use Medical Thermography?

• Thermography can detect increased metabolic heat associated with increased vascularity of suspicious growths.
• Thermography can sense the thermal signal years in advance of the mass detected on an x-ray.   
• Provides a visual representation of physiological changes such as pain 
• Can provide insight to people who experience chronic pain, yet find no conclusive evidence from anatomical studies. 
• Can be used to measure a patient's response to treatments and their subjective feelings of pain 
• Has the capability to indicate a tumors aggressiveness, and potential for spreading.

Indications for using Medical Thermography: Images

• Breast Health * Musculo-Skeletal Syndromes * Reflex Sympathetic
Dystrophy * Inflammatory Pain * Neuropathy * Neurovascular
Compression * Nerve Entrapment * Myofascial Syndromes * Sports
Injuries * Feigned Disorders * Soft Tissue Injuries * Nerve Injury * Thoracic
Outlet Syndrome * Wound Healing * Stroke * Arthritis * Whiplash * Disk
Injury * Skin Cancer * Deep Vein Thrombosis * Carpel Tunnel
Syndrome * Cardiovascular & Stroke Risk Appraisal

The Future of Medical Thermography:

• Integrating thermography as an aspect of all breast-screening programs,
combined with a structural study, will contribute to the prevention of, and
substantially reduce the mortality rate from breast cancer. Empirical evidence
suggests that screening women before the age of 40, and tracking changes over
time would help to begin treatment at the earliest possible time, rather than when
a significant growth has already occurred.

• The usage of thermography for pain screening will help in the evaluation of feigned disorders and malingerers, as well as greatly reduce insurance costs, due to misdiagnoses.

About Dr. Elgarten:

• Dr. Elgarten has an extensive background in the medical field, with over 25 years of experience in the emergency and intensive care settings. He has taken his vast medical experience to The Health Principles, where he focuses on the health of each individual patient, and treats the entire person, not just one aspect. Dr. Elgarten has several years of experience with Thermography, and is one of the few doctors in the area to utilize this extremely effective screening method.

Dr. Elgarten has pioneered several advances within the field, including the usage of thermography in dental identification, diagnosing thyroid problems, lymphatic issues and diagnosing vagal nerve dysfunction. He was also one of the first doctors to use before and after pictures to determine the patient's response to their treatment.

About THP

• The Health Principles is Dr. Elgarten's vision of an ideal medical environment coming to life. At The Health Principles, the focus is on treating the whole person, utilizing some of the most effective, cutting edge therapies available. To find out more about The Health Principles, visit our website at www.thehealthprinciples.com.

Contact info:

• The Health Principles

5 Hatfield Lane

Goshen NY 10921

Ph:  845-790-3371

Fax: 845-790-1109

Email: thp@thehealthprinciples.com

Web: www.thehealthprinciples.com