Thermal Imaging Courses
Learn professional-level thermal imaging and reap its benefits in your work!
Whether you have never used a thermal camera before or already have some experience, our three-day intensive course will take your skills to the next level.
A fruitful investment for anyone involved in animal health or welfare.
The course is a three-day, in-depth experience with a variety of thermal cameras for you to try out, a variety of animals to practice with, and extensive written course materials to take home.
The courses are organized in small groups, usually 4 to 8, to maximize benefits for each participant. The topics are tailored to each participant's professional interests, and there plenty of are hands-on exercises and individual tutoring.
Photo: Participants of one of the 2025 courses practicing imaging with a stranger-friendly cat.
What is thermal imaging?
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Find out more about the uses of thermal imaging in:
Monitoring health and welfare at zoos and on farms
Veterinary care and animal physiotherapy
The courses are organized in Helsinki, Finland. Each course runs from a Tuesday to a Thursday. The next courses will take place in March, April and/or May 2026. The dates will be selected according to the participants' wishes.
Click on the below to find out more about the course
If you are interested in potentially attending, please fill in your contact details below, and we will be in touch.
Contacting us does not bind you to anything. You can decide whether to participate after you have received further information.
Ideal for veterinarians, keepers, caretakers and managers at zoos, as well as those carrying out research or monitoring in the wild.
On the course, you will get
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In-depth knowledge on how to unlock the potential of thermal imaging in imonitoring animal health, thermal comfort, social cohesion, vitality of newborns, and much more
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Practical excercises with animals and different types of thermal cameras
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A course diploma and plenty of illustrated instructions to take home
Ideal for veterinarians, veterinary nurses, animal physiotherapists, and others working on animal health.
On the course, you will get
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In-depth knowledge on how to unlock the potential of thermal imaging in improving diagnosis, monitoring recovery, communicating with clients, and much more
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Practical excercises with animals and different types of thermal cameras
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A course diploma and plenty of illustrated instructions to take home
The main focus on the course will be is on small animals (dogs, cats, etc.), equids and production animals. However, we will tailor the content to fit the interests of the registered participants, including those working with ectotherms and other exotics.
How can your clinic benefit from using thermal imaging?
See a few examples below.
A diagnostic aid - and a powerful tool for communicating with animal owners
This is a thermal image of a dog, seen from above, with the head to the left.
See the temperature scale on the left-hand side of the image for information on which colours symbolise higher vs. lower temperatures.
This image reveals abnormally warm areas in the upper back and on the right hip, suggesting inflammation.
The bluish areas on the back are normal: they show the insulating effect of hair.
How does thermographic data collection work in scientific research?
Here is one example:
Thermal imaging, also called infrared thermography, can be utilised in data collection on any of the physiological, emotional and cognitive processes that involve changes in peripheral blood circulation or other processes with effects on surface temperature.
One of such uses of thermography is collecting data on the functioning of the autonomic nervous system. Emotional arousal is linked to the activation of the sympathetic nervous system, durign which the release of adrenaline to the bloodstream causes vasoconstriction in peripheral blood vessels. One of the body parts in which this can be measured with a thermal camera is the carunccle, i.e. inner corner of the eye.
The dynamics of this process involve first a drop in carucnle temperature within a minute or two, followed by a gradual rise. Planning of any studies will therefore have to include careful attention to the timeline. A true baseline measure requires starting imaging before the stimulus, and the dynamic nature of the drop and rise in temperature require frequent enough sampling, preferably with the thermal camera in radiometric video mode.
In the lower version of this thermal image, analysis software has been used to locate the pixel with the highest temperature, marked with the red pointer and with "Max" in the data column.
This sample image also illustrates that the surface temperature of any body part is normally much lower than the core body temperature. The vascular system is a major thermoregulatory organ. A good understanding of these dynamics is one of the key skills in planning and running successful thermographic studies.
How can your zoo benefit from the use of thermal imaging?
See a few examples below.
Remote monitoring to find health issues:
The top image shows a group of ruffs (a species of sandpiper) at a zoo exhibit. The bottom image shows the same birds as seen through a thermal camera, revealing surface temperatures in fine detail.
The vertical scale on the left-hand side of the image shows in which order the different colours are being used as symbols of lower and higher temperatures in this image. Anything below 19 C will be shown as black and anything above 39 C, as white. The scale is fully adjustable, allowing for examination of lower and higher temperatures as well.
A crucial skill in using a thermal camera to monitor animal health is to recognise which patterns are normal and which are not. The cool legs of the bird closest to the water's edge are likely to be normal, resulting of having waded in the water, after which evaporative cooling makes the surface look cool to the thermal camera. However, the bird on the left is likely to have a circulatory problem in its left leg, warranting closer inspection. If the cool surface of that left leg were only an effect due to wet legs, such wetness would show in both legs.
This image shows a Patagonian mara with inflammation in the upper part of the right leg.
In this image, areas marked with white are of the highest temperature. The inflammation in tissues below the skin is sufficient to cause the visible temperature anomaly on the surface.
With thermal images like this, a zoo caretaker or veterinarian can spot the individuals that need veterinary attention.
Meanwhile, the high temperature of the eyes is normal. Without hair to insulate body temperature from the camera's view, the surface temperature of eyes is closer to body temperature than that of most other body parts.
Programme and Topics
Topics covered will include
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Currently available methods to use thermal imaging in determining causes of lameness (which leg, is it joint or paw/hoof/foot, which leg, etc.), detecting local inflammation (arthritis, mastitis etc.), nerve damage, thromboembolism, and more.
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Currently available methods to use thermal imaging in monitoring thermal comfort, temperatures of surfaces in the environment, detecting acute stress, monitoring animals in the dark, assessing vitality of newborns, and more.
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Currently available methods to use thermal imaging in data collection on thermoregulation, functioning of the autonomic nervous system, febrile reactions, and more.
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Understanding how thermal imaging works as a key to accurate imaging. What is infrared radiation, how does a thermal camera measure it, and how will this information help you prevent common errors? Thermal physics presented in an easily accessible, fun way!
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Common sources of error and how to prevent them. Opportunities and limitations in modern-day thermal imaging.
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How to select the right type of thermal camera for your needs?
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How to use the latest versions of free thermal analysis software to get more information out of the thermal images than meets the eye?
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Practical exercises with thermal cameras: How to plan for accurate imaging: what is the correct angle and height for the camera, and how to set the necessary parameters, from ambient and reflected temperature to emissivity? Learn to rapidly focus on a moving animal.
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How to use thermal images as a powerful tool to communicate with your clients in veterinary practice or animal physiotherapy, or visitors at zoos or animal shelters
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How to design rigorous protocols and criteria for extraction of data from thermal images
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How to utilise its visual potential in peer-reviewed publications and in public communication of science
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And much, much more
The programme at a glance:
Day 1 (Tuesday)
9:00 Lectures and demonstrations: Current uses of thermal imaging in veterinary medicine and animal physiotherapy, and what is needed to succeed in them.
12:00 Lunch
12:30 Hands-on introduction to a range of different thermal cameras and to easy-to-use analysis software. Getting familiar with them in practice.
17:00 End of the classes for the day
Day 2 (Wednesday)
9:00 Preparations for a reliable imaging session: learning the checklist to avoid measurement errors
10:00 Hands-on exercises with thermal cameras and animals
12:00 Lunch
12:30 Hands-on exercises with thermal cameras and animals, continued
17:00 End of the classes for the day
18:00 Course dinner
Day 3 (Thursday)
9:00 Buidling on the exercises of Wednesday: Using analysis software to uncover more information in the images you took.
12:00 Lunch
12:30 In-depth discussions: How to tap the full potential of thermal imaging in your work, tailored to each participant's interests. How to prepare for future developments in the field.
17:00 End of the course
The language of the courses is English.
The detailed programme will be sent to the participants after registration and payment.
Tailored to your interests: Before the course, we will contact all registered participants to find out more about your specific wishes, so that we can take those into account in planning the detailed contents of the course.
Suitable for beginners and experienced users alike: Because a substantial part of the learning will take place in small-group excercises, we will also be able to tailor the content for your level of prior experience.
Venues
The course will take place in Helsinki, Finland, at the conference facilities of Hotel Sokos Presidentti.
Located in the heart of Helsinki, this popular venue for conferences is surrounded by plenty of options for your free time. The Natural History Museum is right across the street, and there are several restaurants, shopping centres and art museums nearby.
For those participants working at zoos, the day of practical excercises will take place at Helsinki Zoo, about 15 min drive from the hotel. We will arrange a shuttle bus to take you there from the hotel and back.
The conference dinner on Wednesday evening will take place at the restaurant of the hotel.
Once you have registered and paid, we will send you detailed information on the venues and surroundings.
The lecturer
Helena Telkänranta, PhD, is the Founder and CEO of the research company Arador Innovations, developing new thermal imaging methods to measure animal and human health. Helena has previously carried out thermal imaging research at the University of Helsinki, Finland and the University of Bristol, UK.
Feedback from participants of earlier thermal imaging trainings:
"It exceeded my expectations."
"The presenter was approachable thorough and was very good at explaining both the physics and the practical/diagnostic applications."
"I learned so much and it was truly fascinating."
Thermal cameras
On the course, you will have the unique opportunity to try out a range of different thermal cameras. You will get hands-on experience on various thermal camera models, from a low-cost model worth a few hundreds of Euros, all the way to a high-resolution thermal video cameras worth tens of thousands of Euros.
The thermal camera models that you will use on the course are as follows: Hikmicro Eco-V, FLIR E60 and FLIR T560.
If your organisation already has a thermal camera and you would like to bring it along to learn more about that model specifically, you are welcome to do so.
