Flir thermal imaging cameras have been used to help determine how well anti-allergy medicine is functioning.

Using a thermal imaging camera to study the skin and temperature differences is an extremely accurate, non-invasive, non-contact technique that can easily be used to visually show changes that could indicate further problems and unknown issues.

The Allergy Centre at the University Hospital of Charité in Berlin are one of Europe’s leading institutes in measuring body temperature changes using a thermal imaging camera.

Infrared cameras are the ideal tool for medical diagnostics as they are able to highlight problems without any invasive procedures.

The Allergy Centre use thermography to analyse skin surface temperatures. Very rapidly the human body can be imaged and anything unusual can easily be seen and documented.

As a form of diagnosis that does not involve any type of harmful elements, it is increasingly being used in this medical capacity.

Infrared technology has been used for research purposes as well as diagnostics of diseases and disorders, such as breast cancer, nervous system disorders, metabolic disorders, neck and back problems, pain syndromes, arthritis, vascular disorders and soft tissue injuries.

The centre uses thermal imaging for the study of wheal and flare reactions within the human body.

“There are different allergic and non-allergic reactions that cause the release of histamine stored in mast cells in the skin in certain body locations.”

It is this histamine that triggers the inflammation process and some people suffer from serious allergies that result in itchy wheals on the skin that last longer than six weeks. It is these people that the centre are researching.

The thermal imager is used to record and analyse the development of these symptoms. The flare reaction is easy to identify on a thermal image as a hot spot.

If you are interested in thermography for an application such as this one, the Flir P660 thermal imaging camera has the capability and resolution to be able to perform this type of function.

Written by Sara Thomson