Best Practices

The Imaging Environment

There can be no heat sources, unshielded light sources or external light leakage into the imaging area. All of these things will cause infrared (IR) energy pollution and render the images captured clinically useless.  Interestingly, even a wall heated by the sun, a hot water pipe etc. can be a source of IR pollution.

There can be no direct air movement over the person being imaged, including from windows, doors or air-conditioning ducts or outlets. The wind stream would artificially cool the body inconsistently, and would nullify the validity of the image series.

The temperature of the imaging area must be stable and well controlled, keep to less than one (1) degree variance during the imaging session, and the ambient temperature should be no more than 23.5 degrees Celsius and no less than 19 degrees Celsius. This environmental temperature will vary from region to region with consideration of the external temperatures.  On Australia's Gold Coast, with a daytime average of 26+ C, a 19 degree room would actually trigger a response from the nervous system, rendering the images less that useful.

The Subject

Should have been fully briefed as to what to avoid before the imaging session. If there is a primary control error in subject preparation, the session should be rescheduled. An example of this would be a person driving to the lab sitting on a car seat which was wet with water, rending the buttocks cold. This is not a factor if the neck is the primary area of concern, but is if it were a lower back image set.

Should be fully briefed by the thermographer before the session commences so that they understand the physical process fully. Not only is this part of "informed consent", but it helps if the subject knows what is about to happen, and the processes involved.

The Images

Client files will be kept on suitable electronic media and those files will be protected by encryption (most desirable) or password security to prevent acquisition of private information or records by parties not authorised to have such records.

The Image Files will be named in accordance with ATA guidelines.  The patients identity will be set in the first part of the file name by the first three letters of the family name, the first three letters of the first name, and the initial of the first middle name, followed by the year of birth expressed as two figures, the month of birth, expressed as two figures, and the day of birth, expressed as two figures. Should a client not have sufficient letters in their name to fulfil these requirements, an underscore will substitute the missing letters. As an example of this rule in application, a fictitious person named Mary Jane Smith, born on the 16th of November, 1963 would be identified in the file name as described above as SmiMarJ631116. Whilst not impossible to find another person with a similar name or date of birth, the statistical unlikelihood of finding an exact duplicate name and birth date make this system of client identification quite reliable under normal circumstances when combined with the Thermographer's ATA membership number. The ATA membership number will then make up the next character group. We will use the fictitious ATA membership number of AZ1. This makes the file name now SmiMarJ641119AZ1.

For any study there are a certain number of base images which should be captured, regardless of any extra images also requiring capture.

The Report

Clients will be given a copy of all relevant images in either printed or electronic form with their written report, if such a report is required.