1. Ear thermometers measure the infrared heat of the eardrum, which reflects body temperature.
2. To assess blood circulation in skin and subcutaneous tissues by imaging skin temperature differences over a wide area.
3. Infrared lasers are used for cosmetic surgery (skin resurfacing, hair removal, treatment of varicose veins)
4. Infrared lasers can also be used for ocular surgery (within the eye)
5. Medical researchers are using infrared “light” to shrink cancer tumors.

NASA was one of the first organizations to examine phototherapy in recent times: they were trying to develop a technology to accelerate the growth of plants, presumably for space travel. What they found, instead, was a technology that appears to speed up the healing of human tissue.

1. To measure bone density
2. To assess bone damage - for example after a physical accident
3. To investigate fluid flow- for example in the gut
4. X-rays can be used to treat cancers. A radiotherapist carefully calculates the dose of X-rays targeted onto the tumor inside the body. These X-rays are over 150 times stronger than those used in X-radiographs and kill the cancer cells in the tumor. (Aiming X-rays from different directions to focus onto the tumor reduces damage to surrounding tissues.)
5. A modern development of the X-ray is found in CT scanners. Computerized tomography (or CT) scanners use several beams of X-rays simultaneously from different angles. Detectors measure the amount of each beam that is absorbed in the body and the data is fed into a computer that can build up a virtual, three-dimensional model of the area being examined. CT scans are very sophisticated and can be used to look for damage in much more than bone. They are often used to plan complex surgery and locate tumors before radiotherapy.