A police officer in America saved the life of a man thanks to the thermal imaging camera installed in his police car.

The 86 year old who was rescued had fallen into marshland around the Scarbourough, Maine area, after slipping and falling while bird watching.

He was believed to have been trapped for several hours and told the officer who found him that he had come to terms with the fact he might die, particularly since temperatures dropped dramatically during the night.

The thermal camera used on the American police car detected the heat signature of the man, who was found near his car which was also outputting a thermal image.

As thermal cameras use infrared light rather than normal light to see the world, this means that the thermal camera was able to detect the man where a normal camera might not. It’s amazing to think a life might have been lost if it wasn’t for the use of this technology.

Another similar incident happened last winter where the same police officer rescued a lost elderly woman in the woods.  Again, the thermal camera allowed the officer to detect the woman – who was said to have wandered off from a nearby nursing home – and take her back to safety.

When the local police department posted this story to their Facebook, many people expressed concern over the use of the cameras. One person believed that the thermal camera allowed police to see totally into houses from a distance, but thermal cameras actually can’t see through walls, so this concern can easily be put to rest.

When used in law enforcement, thermal cameras are an essential tool for both ground offices and also helicopter support. With their ability to see heat signatures even in darkness and bad conditions, thermal cameras allow police to easily detect criminals who might be hiding in dense foliage or complex areas. If normal lights or torches were used, it is likely some criminals could escape because it’s easy to miss something in the dark.

Thermal cameras solve that problem, and it’ll be interesting to see if we ever start using them more widely here in the UK as well.