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Updated: May 24, 2026
05:12
Portable Thermographic Screening for Detection of Acute Wallenberg's Syndrome
Published on: September 19, 2019
Thermography as a screening and diagnostic tool: a systematic review
Anita Fitzgerald1, Jessica Berentson-Shaw
1New Zealand Guidelines Group, Wellington, New Zealand. afitzgerald@nzgg.org.nz
The New Zealand Medical Journal
|March 20, 2012
Summary
Digital infrared thermography shows limited effectiveness for breast cancer detection. Current evidence does not support its use in screening or as an adjunctive diagnostic tool.
Area of Science:
- Medical imaging
- Oncology
- Diagnostic technology
Background:
- Breast cancer screening and diagnosis are critical for early detection and improved patient outcomes.
- Digital infrared thermography (DIT) is a non-invasive imaging technique that measures surface temperature.
- Its role in breast cancer detection remains a subject of ongoing research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of DIT for breast cancer detection.
- To assess DIT's utility in screening asymptomatic populations.
- To determine DIT's accuracy as a diagnostic tool for women with suspected breast cancer.
Main Methods:
- A systematic literature search was performed across electronic databases and international websites.
- Included studies compared DIT with mammography for screening or with histology for diagnosis.
- Study quality was assessed using the QUADAS criteria.
Main Results:
- One study evaluated DIT for screening, yielding 25% sensitivity and 74% specificity compared to mammography.
- Five studies assessed DIT diagnostically, with sensitivity ranging from 25% to 97% and specificity from 12% to 85% compared to histology.
- Included studies were generally of average quality.
Conclusions:
- Insufficient evidence currently supports the use of DIT for breast cancer screening.
- There is inadequate evidence to establish DIT's benefit as an adjunctive tool to mammography or clinical findings.
- Further research is needed to clarify the role of DIT in breast cancer diagnostics.
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