Key Issues in the World of Thermal Infrared Cameras:

Thermal imaging systems have come down in cost over the past few years to the point where they are affordable to just about any company out there. In the old days IR Cam systems were expensive items that required cryogenic cooling, via liquid nitrogen, of the detector in order to operate. Thermal infrared imaging systems now are self contained and require minimal maintenance to operate efficiently for years. The availability of low cost infrared cameras that offer entry level performance and the availability of low cost high performance Demo / Pre-Owned infrared camera systems, like some of the offerings here at National Infrared Dot Com, have created an environment where it is now OK to stretch your limits and try out new thermography applications. Most new applications for thermal imaging have been developed over the past year or so. One of the more recent Hot Topics for thermal imaging is the detection of humans with a fever in order to combat SARS around the globe. The infrared camera can scan large numbers of people traveling past a given point and alarm on individuals with elevated temperatures for further evaluation. Some of the more common and traditional thermography applications include:

Process control
Predictive maintenance & preventative maintenance in electrical power transmission equipment and predictive maintenance in machinery
Non-destructive testing (NDT) of critical components and preventive maintenance of online systems.
Energy audits of commercial and residential structures in order to determine the energy efficiency of the building (building diagnostics)
Corona detection in power line insulators
Roofing diagnostics that determine wet and damaged insulation or leaks in flat roof structures
Heat loss evaluation of buildings and products
Flow evaluation / monitor for steam lines, steam traps, water pipes and oil pipelines
Equine preventative checkup for lameness prevention, hoof abcess and a variety of common horse ailments
Human medicine including breast cancer detection and university / government studies
Breast cancer detection
Verification of soft tissue injury to prevent insurance fraud
Acupuncture
Surveillance / Stakeout force protection
Riot control / Recon
Suspect pursuit and capture
Perimeter control of critical installations
Wild fire recon and hot spot detection for mop up operations
Poor visibility navigation on land and at sea
Flammable liquid detection in drums and storage tanks. Tank level detection of various gasses and fluids.
Victim location (dead or alive)
Search and rescue
Oil spill location and containment
Vessel Identification for secure harbor monitoring
Anti-terrorism efforts on open borders
Homeland security
Wildlife observation and control
Wildfire hot spot detection
Wilderness search and rescue
Poaching control
Geo-thermal event detection
Hunting
Driver safety at night
Enhanced visibility in stormy conditions day or night
Reduce the risk of hitting animals in the road
Engine / system diagnostics
and the list goes on.....

You can see that almost anything that you can come up with can be tested with the thermal camera systems that we offer. Many people are now ready to take the plunge and go into bussiness for themselves. With a low initial investment in quality entry level or high end demo equipment you can start working immediately. As your needs change and your bussiness grows you can always trade up or add to your current inventory of infrared camera systems. This is an excellent plan for the small bussiness man just starting out. It reduces your initial capitol outlay and allows you to spend more money on promotion (which is the real secret to succeding in the thermography field. Larger companies now find it affordable to implement multiple cameras to better spread the resources around their organisation and use them more efficiently. With the economic roller coaster we are on many companies prefer to limit their capital outlay while maintaining the performance they require by obtaining low cost fully evaluated pre-owned systems rather than high priced new systems that may not offer them a substantial benefit versus their cost.

For more information on imagers check the following links:

1. All major thermal infrared cameras
2. Infrared predictive maintenance
3. Thermography Services
4. Palm IR 250 Thermal Imagers and the Night Sight product line
5. Infrared cameras (police)
6. Infrared cameras (Thermography )
7. Infrared camera superstore
8. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles UAV
9. UAV Site
10. How Thermal Infrared Imaging Cameras Work
11. Infrared Theory