The Gerson Institute

Thermography is a non-invasive way to study the physiology of the human body (as differentiated from ultrasound and mammograms, which study the structure of the body). Thermography simply detects subtle variations in skin temperature using an infrared camera in a temperature-controlled room, which can provide clues to what is going on beneath the surface of the skin. Humans are infrared beings and they give off energy in the form of heat. An infrared camera (think night-vision) is heat-sensitive. Whereas a mammogram emits ionizing radiation through your compressed breast tissue, on a thermogram you radiate your energy toward the camera. Thus, nothing is passed through your body. Another very common example of using heat to detect illness is getting your temperature checked at a doctor’s visit because fever (excess heat) implies infection or dis-ease.