What is thermal imaging? i have heard of many different types of breast imaging - what exactly is thermal imaging?

Breast : Breast thermography (also known as thermal breast imaging, infrared mammography, or digital infrared thermal imaging) is a procedure which uses an infrared camera to image the temperature of the breasts. The theory behind breast thermography is that different pathological processes (such as cancer) will alter blood flow to portions of the breast, thereby affecting the breast temperature and the appearance on the infrared camera. While the technology is approved by the fda as a safe diagnostic procedure for detecting breast cancer, both the american college of radiology and the society of breast imaging opposes the use of breast tomography as a replacement for mammography. No scientific research has demonstrated that it is as effective as mammography in detecting breast cancer.

Thermography: Uses an infrared camera to make an image MAP of the amount of heat coming from different parts of the body. Some alternative practitioners suggest this as an alternative to mammography to screen for breast cancer based on the hypothesis that breast cancer is more metabolically active and has more blood flow so is "hotter". However, there is no evidence proving that this works.