Re: Digital infrared thermal imaging (DITI) of breast lesions: Sensitivity and specificity of detection of primary breast cancers — A reply

Abstract

Sir — Thank you for giving us the opportunity to respond. We are wrongly accused of drawing inconsistent conclusions from our data which indicate clearly the lack of usefulness of digital infrared thermal imaging (DITI) under the conditions of the test. Furthermore, it is stated that we did not use a standardized method. In fact we followed the manufacturer’s protocol and after imaging 50% of the patients, feedback on the quality of imaging was requested and obtained by the manufacturers. The protocol determined, amid various parameters, the number of images per patient, the position of the patient, the angle from which oblique images were taken and the room temperature. There was no need for close-up imaging due to the high resolution of the camera and digital image processing. The book to which they refer on standardized thermographic protocols was published after our study had been carried out. Re: Digital infrared thermal imaging (DITI) of breast lesions: Sensitivity and specificity of detection of primary breast cancersClinical RadiologyVol. 67Issue 3PreviewSir — We read with interest the paper by Kontos et al.,1 especially in regard to the fact that one of the authors of this letter is one of the cited authors2. Digital infrared thermal imaging (DITI) represents a readily available and biologically harmless method with increasing scientific and clinical interest for its use in diagnosing various inflammatory and malignant conditions, using standardized protocols and techniques. After careful reading of the mentioned article, we found the conclusions inconsistent and drawn after applying non-standardized protocols for use of DITI in such clinical setting (three thermographic imaging positions instead of five imaging positions). Full-Text PDF