Heat transfer analysis software adapted to skin burn depth simulations

Abstract

The aim of this work is to design numerical heat transfer model optimized to skin burn depth simulations. Presently performing correct evaluation of skin burn depth in order to make the appropriate choice of treatment is one of the most important unsolved problems in skin burn diagnostics. In the absence of any objective procedure allowing quantitative evaluation of a skin burn depth, current research interests have concentrated on the search for new, noninvasive and quantitative diagnostic methods. One of this methods is thermal tomography, where the most important part is heat transfer analysis programs with simulation algorithms. The main disadvantages of currently available heat transfer simulation software are: very long time of simulations which eliminates this solutions from real time diagnostic, general heat transfer equations which not include all thermal processes occurring in human skin and complicated simulations procedure which requires setting a big number of simulation parameters. To solve mentioned problems a special software in Borland C++ Builder environment was implemented with modified simulation algorithm based on finite difference method and the extended heat transfer equation for biological tissue. Designed program contains also the geometry and thermal parameters of the skin tissue model where heat changes connected with blood perfusion were included. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.