Throughout the history of mankind, we have always observed constant changes accompanying each stage of the development of society. Since ancient times, man has sought to understand something new or something that will enable him to fulfill his goals more effectively. The most primitive example is the beginning of the use of spears and hammers when hunting wild animals. Later, people realized that it is much more effective to invent such a weapon that can aim at a certain distance, avoiding direct contact with the animal. This is how firearms were invented. It is obvious that similar conclusions were reached by researchers in various fields of science who gradually implemented new technologies. Thus, the invention of the wheel led to the intensification of the creation of means of transportation, the telescope made it possible to see the beautiful starry sky and other bodies that are at a great distance, and the electric light bulb opened new opportunities for those who work mostly at night or who like to read before going to bed. At the same time, there are such inventions that function effectively at once during the performance of several different tasks. These are, for example, thermal imaging devices.
Brief info about thermal vision technology
The emergence and development of optical thermal imaging mechanisms dates to the beginning of the 19th century, when scientists traced the nature of infrared radiation and understood how information about reality is transmitted through a prism and reflected on a surface. Thanks to this invention, it became possible to see those objects that are not visible to the naked eye. Thermal imagers, scanning the area, produce a thermal image with the preservation of all objects located on it. The fact is that these devices are detectors of elevated temperature, and therefore depict certain objects in the area in different colors. So, the one with the highest temperature will have a bright red or orange color, and the one with the lowest temperature will be blue or purple. This technology found its use at first only in military affairs. Its use made it possible to see the enemy behind certain partitions and successfully attack him. In addition, the wide popularity of thermal imagers among representatives of military art was explained by the high price of these devices. Not every person could afford to buy them. However, later, when the materials from which thermal imagers were made became cheaper, they became widespread in other areas of people’s life. It is about law enforcement activities, and about search, transport, hunting, etc. Their use in the medical field is especially relevant.
Thermal scanners usage in medicine
Due to its complex structure and the constant influence of the environment, the human body can undergo certain temporary changes. They can be associated with various diseases, as well as with temperature fluctuations. Thermal imagers clearly identify areas that have a higher to a lower temperature, and therefore allow you to detect problems even before they begin to progress. A more applied property of this mechanism is thermal imaging treatment. It involves an analysis of the body in view of the thermal pattern that is created because of using this device. Primary research demonstrates possible problems, pathologies or neoplasms that take place in the body and are harbingers of serious diseases. Many times, thanks to such monitoring, buxic oncological diseases, which are currently a common phenomenon, were detected and cured in the early stages. Why the use of a thermal imager, and no other well-known scientific achievements in the field of medicine? Because thermal imaging devices are safe for diagnosing and treating people. Unlike other types of radiation, they are not harmful to the skin and internal organs and can be useful not only once every six months or a year, like X-rays, but also at longer intervals.
Thermal scanners and Covid-19
At the beginning of 2020, humanity faced a potential threat to its existence, which made it necessary to find a way out of the situation at an extremely fast pace. Covid-19 became such a problem that it took the lives of many thousands of people. Yes, at first medicine was not ready to fully accept the challenge, but constant research and improvement of existing developments made it possible to realize the possibilities that optical devices can provide when they are used in the fight against this disease. Because the nature of covid is to create certain obstacles in the respiratory system, a key element in building a patient treatment strategy is to understand what is going on inside and how to deal with it. Thermal imagers during their use during patient reception are indicators of the detection of sputum in the lungs and thus the initial diagnosis of covid symptoms. Quite a lot of cases are known when a person does not show any possible signs from the outside, feels smells and tastes, but a more detailed analysis showed the exact opposite. This helped save many people who sought help in time. With the invention of the vaccine, everything became easier, and more research was conducted in the direction of searching for the most optimal treatment option for the population. That is, the effectiveness of thermal imaging in diagnosing ailments by its very nature has become a prerequisite for understanding how to deal with it. This is their immediate benefit to the medical field.
In addition, thermal imagers and their functions are actively used in people’s everyday life, given the spread of the pandemic. The practice of using temperature measuring devices at a distance from a person is very common. The non-contact thermometer became a real find of 2020, because it made it possible not only to measure the temperature of a sick or healthy person, but also to protect another person from airborne infection. Therefore, the use of thermal imaging devices is extremely important in the field of medicine.
Conclusion
In view of the above, we can conclude that any new technology that has passed the stage of constant research, testing and gradual implementation into life becomes extremely useful for the lives of many people. The thermal imager was no exception. Its functions and working mechanism are useful not only for industries that originally needed them, but also for those that are popular and in demand among most of the population. The use of this device in the field of medicine is an important step towards its development and improvement of patient treatment schemes, and the situation with covid once again demonstrated this.
