This breast imaging procedure is based on the principle that chemical and blood vessel activity in both pre-cancerous tissue and the area surrounding a developing breast tumor is almost always higher than in the normal breast. Since pre-cancerous and cancerous masses are highly metabolic tissues, they need an abundant supply of nutrients to maintain their growth. To obtain these nutrients they increase circulation to their cells by secreting chemicals to keep existing blood vessels open, recruit dormant vessels, and create new ones (neoangiogenesis). This process results in an increase in regional surface temperatures of the breast.
State-of-the-art applications use ultra-sensitive thermal imaging cameras and sophisticated computer software to detect, analyze, and produce high-resolution diagnostic thermal images of these temperature and vascular changes.