Breast Cancer Foundation NZ does not recommend thermography for breast cancer screening or diagnosis.
Thermography uses a thermal camera to record heat patterns in the breast to check for breast cancer. It has previously been promoted as a breast screening tool which doesn't use radiation.
The idea behind thermography is that a tumour needs more blood, so it may raise the skin temperature in that area. A thermal camera can pick up this change in temperature.
However, there is not enough evidence that thermography can reliably detect breast cancer, particularly small cancers or those deep in the breast tissue. Mammograms remain the most effective test for finding breast cancer.
