Thermal Imaging Market Size, Trends, Opportunities and Forecast To 2026

Posted by Tom C on March 10th, 2023

The thermal imaging market is projected to grow from USD 3.6 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach USD 4.7 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 5.5% during the forecast period.

Major players operating in the global thermal imaging market are FLIR Systems (US), Fluke Corporation (US), Leonardo (Italy), L3HARRIS TECHNOLOGIES (US), United Technologies (US), Axis Communications (Sweden), BAE Systems (UK), Opgal (Israel), Testo (Germany), Xenics (Belgium), Thermoteknix Systems (UK), and so on.

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Opportunity: Increase in the adoption of thermography for infancy stage diagnosis in healthcare applications

Clinical Thermography (CT) or thermal imaging is a non-invasive screening and diagnostic technique, which is combined with mammography or other scanning or diagnostic tool. Clinical thermography uses thermal cameras for infancy stage diagnose of cancer, infections, injuries, or vascular disease. It is one of the best preventive health assessment techniques, in which thermal cameras produce images based on the amount of heat dissipated by the human body. The images display heat patterns, thermal imbalances, and inflammation produced by blood circulation problems in the human body. This thermal imaging is also used in mass fever screening, neurological disorders, and breast cancer screening. Breast cancer is one of the common cancers diagnosed in women universally. Medical thermal imaging used to diagnose breast cancer is gaining momentum as it is a non-invasive and low-cost technique. Currently, researchers and companies are conducting research studies to improve and introduce advanced thermal imaging techniques. For instance, NIRAMAI Health Analytix, a Bangalore, India-based deep-tech start-up, developed Thermalytix, a computer-aided diagnostic engine, and Software with Machine Intelligence for Life Enhancement (SMILE), a cancer screening tool, which deploys a high-resolution thermal sensing device and a cloud-hosted analytics solution for analyzing the thermal images.

Challenge: Thermal cameras do not work through glass and water

Thermal cameras detect heat energy dissipated by the human body, animal, or any structure. The camera produces heat patterns and an image based on them, which helps investigate defects, threats, or other possibilities. Thermal imaging cameras do not work through glass and water because glass allows visible light to pass through it, but it acts as a mirror for thermal wavelengths. If a thermal camera is held in front of the glass, it will produce an image of the person holding the thermal camera. The image produced will be a blur and will lack significant detail and contrast.

Similarly, water acts as a barrier for thermal wavelength. Water has a higher heat capacity than air, requiring four times the energy to raise or lower the temperature of an equivalent volume by one degree. This means the objects lose or gain their heat energy faster in comparison to water over shorter distances. Hence, it becomes difficult for the thermal imager to differentiate objects underwater.