Is thermography different than mammography or ultrasound?
Yes. Unlike mammography and ultrasound, thermography is a test of physiology. It detects and records the infrared heat radiating from the surface of the breasts. It can help in early detection and monitoring of abnormal physiology (that can later develop into a tumor detectable on mammogram). Mammography and ultrasound are tests of anatomy. They look at structure. When a tumor has grown to a size that is large enough and dense enough to block an x-ray beam (mammography) or reflect a sound wave (ultrasound), it produces an image that can be detected by a trained radiologist. In the case of a mammogram, a tumor will be detected once it has grown to the size of a dime, and contains about 4 billion cells.
