What is Thermo4U
During activity, the human body must lose its heat. This can be done in various ways. In a rest situation heat will be released, for the most part (>50%) by means of (infrared) radiation. We feel this as heat, but it is radiation! We cannot detect this radiation with the naked eye, but our specialized infrared “heat camera” can. We can convert this radiation into a picture. The our software can convert this picture into an image, an “avatar” and calculate where the most radiation takes place
The body always strives for balance, as far as blood flow is concerned. This is called “homeostasis”. When a (impending) injury or overload occurs, the body will first try to solve this by itself by sending more blood to the affected area. Because the affected area gets warmer, it will cause an increased amount of radiation. A disturbance of homeostasis arises: an asymmetry. The asymmetry can be detected and measured. The degree of asymmetry is shown in a color: gray is normal (that’s what we strive for), via yellow, red and purple it goes to black. Black often means a (impending, current or old) injury.
IRT is used at:
- Prevention: Here we can detect an impending overload before the athlete feels it himself – We monitor athletes, athletes, in short, healthy people
- (Physiotherapy) examination: During examination, IRT will show the asymmetry. That can sometimes even appear in a different location than where the pain comes from!
- Return to play: Regular IRT monitoring allows us to see if an injured player is ready for the next step in his rehabilitation process
- Load management: IRT can track and monitor an entire team throughout the season and will function as an tool for coaches and medical staff in terms of (over)loading the players.