Thermal imaging has been available for decades to detect temperature differences on the skin that could signal breast cancer without exposing patients to radiation, although the method is not as reliable as mammography. The UT Dallas researchers worked to address this issue by applying engineering tools to imaging data to develop a model that quantifies the thermal characteristics of breast cancer throughout one patient’s breast. The UT Dallas researchers teamed up with UT Southwestern assistant professors of radiology Dr. Jody C. Hayes and Dr. Lindsay M. Compton. Lozano said he was eager to join Hassanipour’s breast-cancer research project because his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009. She said she became interested in the thermal imaging project after discovering that little work had been done to create a thermal model of the breast based on real clinical data.